BARACK OBAMA’S DISAPPROVAL RATING reached a new record high of 52% last night after a new poll showed the American public to be increasingly dissatisfied with the president’s handling of the country’s employment problems.

The findings of the latest Reuters-Ipsos poll show, for the first time, that more people are dissatisfied with Obama’s performance than approve of it – 52% disapprove of him while he has the blessing of just 45%.

By comparison, last month’s similar poll showed the two sides split on 48% apiece.

Furthermore, 62% of respondents – more than three in five – declared the country to be on the wrong track.

• Download the PDF of the full results

Unemployment ranks as the biggest concern of those surveyed, with a massive 92% of the public believing that job creation should be the administration’s top priority.

Ipsos pollsters said the concentration on the jobs market was the highest the company had seen for almost two decades.

Political polarisation remains massive, with Democrat voters being 69% more in favour of Obama’s performance than Republicans are. Strangely, however, voting intentions since last November have only shown a 1% swing to the Republicans.

Liberal commentators argue that Obama’s approval rating is still a few points better than Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter had after 20 months in office.