The Hill News

Disapproval of President Obama's handling of the economy and unemployment is at an all-time high heading into his highly-anticipated speech on his jobs plan next week.

A CNN/ORC poll released Thursday found deep dissatisfaction with the president's management of the economy; 65 percent of Americans said they disapprove of the way Obama is handling the economy, the highest level of disapproval the president has faced on that question in this poll.

Just 34 percent of Americans approve of the way Obama is managing the economy, matching the low point in CNN/ORC's numbers since Obama took office.

As for the number one issue in the election, jobs, the president also faces the dimmest numbers of his tenure. Sixty-two percent of Americans said they disapprove of Obama's work on unempl! oyment, while 37 percent said they approve.

The figures set the stage for the president's address next Thursday to a joint-session of Congress. Obama will outline his fall jobs agenda in a speech that's equal parts politics and policy. The White House understands that the president will have to boost his numbers on jobs and the economy if he wants to have a chance in 2012's election.

To that end, the president's reelection campaign sought to build anticipation for the speech.

"No matter how things go in the weeks and months ahead, this will be an important challenge for our organization," Obama wrote Wednesday evening in an email to supporters. "It's been a long time since Congress was focused on what the American people need them to be focused on."

The poll, conducted Aug. 24-25, has a three percent margin of error.