Reut07:43 12-30-96

WASHINGTON (Reuter) - Americans are less alienated than a year ago, though its still near record levels, according to an annual poll.

The Harris Alienation Index, which has tracked a remorseless rise in public alienation since 1966, fell to 62 percent in 1996 from a record high 67 percent last year.

But pollsters at Louis Harris and Associates Inc. said the improvement might be just a short-term blip since earlier improvements were quickly reversed.

When the Harris organization first asked the five different questions it uses to measure public alienation in 1966, the index stood at 29 percent.

The average for the 1990s so far is 64, higher than in the 1960s when it was 34; the 1970s when it was 52; and the 1980s at 57.

Humphrey Taylor of the Harris organization said the improvement in 1996 probably reflects the strength in the economy, the growth in the numbers of jobs and the sharp drop in crime rates.

The telephone poll of a nationwide cross-section of 1,000 adults was conducted Dec. 12-16. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

They were asked their feelings about the following statements: the rich get rich and the poor get poorer; what you think doesn't count very much anymore; most people with power try to take advantage of people like yourself; the people running the country don't really care what happens to you; you are left out of things going around you.