In 1932 a phone survey predicted Hoover would win against FDR. But in
1932 the people who had phones were affluent and supported Hoover.I don't know how they sampled unemployment or the definitions used back then.
Absolutely. Many people left the small towns and rural areas for the big cities in those years to find jobs and escape the boredum of rural life.
That is not reflected in unemployment stats. But it was a big part of the economic troubles and the deflation of those years. Money was extremely tight. People wouldn't spend it unless they absolutely had to which constrained the economy. People who did have jobs made very little money; most companies had pay cuts.
The deflation meant that if you owed money (like for a mortgage on the farm or house), it was harder to pay it since you had to work so much harder to get a dollar than in the past -- the dollar was worth more. We're used to inflation where the dollar declines and that benefits borrowers.
Very common in those days.
Farm life was very tough before the Depression and the Depression made it worse.
The government started its "alphabet soup" of programs -- NRA, WPA, PWA, TVA, AAA, CCC, to (1) help individuals keep their homes and not starve, (2) pump money into the economy, and (3) give some hope to people. Note that the RFC, which loaned money to railroads, banks and businesses so they'd stay open and keep people working, was instituted by Herbert Hoover, not FDR, and Hoover set a record of increased govt spending. Hoover was a terrible "spin doctor" compared to FDR, though.
The government programs helped a little, but conditions remained hard throughout the 1930s. Obviously it varied from person to person and location to location. A few people had comfortable middle class lifestyles (they were still building and selling cars and a few nice new houses), most did not.
Most people managed to get along "ok" -- they were working -- though it was hard. Occassionally they'd have a little extra money for a luxury like a movie, eating out, or outing or vacation.
A big problem was lack of confidence. If someone did have an extra nickel, they'd really hesitate to spend it, afraid of tomorrow.
Things slowly improved beginning in 1938, mostly from defense and foreign military spending.
I think the two World's Fairs in 1939 (NYC and SF) perked things up a bit. Times were still quite tough, but slowly easing. As more people got jobs, they spent money which turned the downward cycle around. In Philadelphia a lot of nice new houses were built around 1938 onward and new apartment towers in NYC. Some places or industires never recovered.
Like everyone else, the Bell System was picking up business at that time. It was about to finish some new products, like the 555 PBX, but then the war hit and froze all work. The 555 didn't make it out until
1949. However, I think toll long distance benefited from wartime radar experience which used microwaves. A lot of young men learned advanced electronics from their war time jobs and they were eagerly sought by industry after the war where they made major contributions in computers and communications. The Bell System, IBM, RCA and other such companies exploded after the war. (Postwar defense spending helped quite a bit.)