COLUMBUS, OH--(Marketwire - September 29, 2009) - Now that the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh is over and the UN completed its one-day global warming summit, many are saying that measuring economic vitality should have more to do with people's overall happiness. Based on that, BIGresearch asked 6,976 Americans in their September American Pulse™ Survey to rate how happy they are with their life, their job and their health.

56% of Americans say they are happy/totally happy with their life, while 21.7% are unhappy/totally unhappy (22.2% are neutral). Demographically speaking, women tend to be happier than men and Americans 55+ are happier than the younger sets.

All things considered, how happy are you with your life in general?

                          Men    Women   18 - 34  35 - 54   55+
Unhappy/ Totally Unhappy  25.5%  18.1%   28.4%    23.2%     13.2%
Neutral                   22.5%  22.0%   24.5%    23.7%     18.3%
Happy/ Totally Happy      51.9%  59.9%   47.1%    53.2%     68.5%

Source: American Pulse™, September 2009

People who report a household income of $50K+ (67%) are happier than those with a household income less than $50K (48.2%). From a political perspective, Republicans (64.3%) top Democrats (54.9%), while Independents (59.4%) are in the middle on the overall happiness scale.

When it comes to their jobs, 34.6% of Americans are happy/totally happy and 29.4% are unhappy/totally unhappy. Americans appear more content with their health: 49.7% are happy/totally happy while 22.8% are unhappy/totally unhappy. For full complimentary report on overall happiness, job and health (segments include age, income, gender and political party): http://americanpulse.bigresearch.com.

What Americans are Saying on the BIGresearch/Artafact Online Blog...

"I have been absolutely shocked in the past ten years to realize that I am happier with my life in general than at any time in my life."

"I am relatively happy in my life but it could be better... due to the economic mess we are in I have no choice but to continue on doing what I am doing, not for happiness, but for survival."

"...I am happy with my Medicare and secondary insurances and with the ability to make my one choice. I do not want anyone else to choose for me."

"...My job is what it is. I do not love it, I do not hate it. It's a job that pays the bills. Would I give it up for another job? Yes, in a heartbeat."

About American Pulse™

The American Pulse™ Survey is collected online by BIGresearch every month exclusively utilizing Survey Sampling International's (SSI) U.S. panel covering topics such as politics, pop culture and the economy. Over 4,000 respondents participate, providing greater insights into how Americans really feel about issues they currently face. The use of the Artafact online blog as a listening post to develop the questions posed in the monthly American Pulse survey is a very effective use of both online qualitative and quantitative research. http://www.bigresearch.com

About Survey Sampling International (SSI)

Survey Sampling International is the premier global provider of sampling solutions for survey research. SSI offers access to more than 6 million consumer and business-to-business research respondents in 54 countries via Internet, telephone, and mobile. Additional client services include custom profiling, survey programming and hosting, data processing, sampling consulting, and survey optimization. SSI serves more than 1,800 marketing research clients, including nearly three-quarters of the top researchers worldwide. Founded in 1977, SSI has an international staff of 400 people representing 50 countries and 36 languages. The company is based in Shelton, CT with 14 additional offices worldwide. http://www.surveysampling.com

Contact Information: Contacts: BIGresearch Chrissy Wissinger 614.846.0146 SSI Diane Urso 203.567.7236