Education has leapfrogged employment to become the second most important issue facing Bermuda.

Focus on education has now hit the highest level for the past decade.

But both education and employment still lag behind worries over the economy, according to a new poll.

Nearly a third of the population still believe that the economy is the key concern on the island.

The Total Research poll, however, suggested that an increasing number of residents are concerned about education.

Employment has shifted down to the third biggest challenge facing the island and the poll suggests that concerns over jobs “have notably declined over the past two years”.

According to the poll, in which 400 residents were canvassed by phone between June 29 and July 12, women are less likely to pick the economy as the biggest challenge for the island, as are those outside the ages of 35 to 54, and black residents.

But women and black residents, as well as people in Pembroke and Devonshire, are more likely to identify education as the greatest issue.