Gas prices shot to the top of concerns among Atlantic Canadians this spring, a new poll has found. (CBC)

Atlantic Canadians are currently more worried about the cost of gasoline than any other issue, a new poll has found.

Corporate Research Associates said escalating fuel prices have translated into a sharp increase in anxiety about the cost of gas.

About 20 per cent of 1,507 adults surveyed in the four Atlantic provinces picked gas prices as the most important issue facing the region.

Halifax-based CRA conducted the poll between May 7 and June 1. Its results are considered accurate within 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Gas prices had ranked third in a similar poll conducted in February.

The latest poll found that concerns about unemployment, which had been the top-ranked issue in the previous survey, fell — with 26 per cent of respondents citing it as the key issue in the winter, compared to 18 per cent this spring.

Health care also fell, from 20 per cent this winter to 11 per cent this spring.

CRA president Don Mills said worries about gas prices are affecting consumer behaviour.

"Discretionary spending, such as leisure activities and vacation travel, has likely been impacted by high gas prices already and will be even more impacted in the coming months," Mills said in a statement.

The price of gas was the top issue identified by survey respondents in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. In Newfoundland and Labrador, though, respondents selected unemployment as the most important issue.