A new poll shows that although Ohioans increasingly are pessimistic about the state's struggling economy and their futures here, they still like the job Gov. Ted Strickland is doing.

A Quinnipiac University poll released today showed that 55 percent of Ohioans surveyed approve of the way Strickland is handling his job, compared with 23 percent who don't.

Despite findings that residents are concerned about the state's direction, his approval rating dipped only slightly from a high of 61 percent last year, and even 47 percent of Republicans polled support his performance.

Sixty-five percent of Ohioans polled said the economy is getting worse under Strickland, who campaigned with the slogan "Turnaround Ohio," and 28 percent said it is "very likely" or "somewhat likely" that they or a family member will move out of the state in the next year for better opportunities.

Among voters 18 to 29 years old, more than half expect to leave the state in the next year and nearly 70 percent expect to leave eventually, the poll found.

But the poll also found that Ohioans were more likely to blame President Bush and Congress than Strickland.

"Gov. Ted Strickland must be wearing Teflon underwear," Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a news release.

The poll also found that nearly three-fourths of voters support a proposed requirement that companies with more than 25 employees provide employees seven paid sick days a year.

Despite a spate of headlines in recent weeks about scandal that forced Democratic Attorney General Marc Dann to resign, the poll found that voters link the Republican Party more to corruption by a margin of 38 percent to 30 percent.

On other matters, Ohioans overwhelmingly support a legislative proposal to make English the state's official language in public documents as well as the "Castle Doctrine" law to allow people to use any means necessary to defend themselves against an intruder in their homes.

The poll of 1,738 Ohio voters was conducted May 29-June 2 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.

mniquette@dispatch.com