When it comes to the economy, the New York state of mind is deteriorating, according to the 2007 Empire State Poll, a yearly survey conducted by Cornell's Survey Research Institute (SRI).

Only one out of three state residents surveyed were optimistic about the New York state economy, and 43 percent were pessimistic, a reminder of 2003 when confidence in the state's fiscal status was at a low ebb with 80 percent of respondents expressing pessimistic views.

The number of New Yorkers describing the state economy as getting worse was up from last year's survey, when 36 percent of residents expressed similar sentiments. However, 34 percent of New Yorkers this year said they expected the state economy to improve during 2008, an increase from about 23 percent in 2006 -- and the most optimistic outlook uncovered by the poll during its five years.

Location played a role in how respondents viewed the economy: Downstate respondents were the most optimistic (39 percent); but only 26 percent of upstate residents expressed optimism. Half of upstate residents said they believed the state economy had worsened over the past year, while only 9 percent thought it had improved. Downstate, only 39 percent of residents said they thought the economy had worsened, while 27 percent thought it had improved.

The phone poll surveyed 800 New York residents between Jan. 25 and March 28. The margin of error was 3.5 percentage points for statewide results and 4.9 for upstate-downstate comparisons.

Launched in 2003, the Empire State Poll was the first concerted effort of its kind within the state to collect long-term, annual benchmark data on New York state residents' characteristics, demographics, experiences, attitudes on workplace issues, local and state economy, state government, media use, and political and social topics.

For more information, visit the SRI home page at http://www.cornellsurveyresearch.com/sri/.