Most Americans (57%) know someone who’s been laid off from work due to COVID-19, according to the latest Economist/YouGov Poll. The data comes as The Department of Labor reports another 1.3 million Americans have filed first-time unemployment between July 9 – 16, 2020.
Of those who say they know someone who has been laid off due to COVID-19, 10 percent say they personally have been laid off. One in four (24%) Americans say they have a close family member who has been laid off, and 23 percent report a close friend of theirs has been laid off work.
Americans in the Northeast are particularly likely to report having been laid off (14%), compared to 11 percent of Midwesterners, and 8 percent in both the South and West.
Just over one in 10 under 30 (12%) say they personally, have been laid off from work due to COVID-19, compared to 11 percent of 30-to 44-year-olds, 9 percent of 45-to 64-year-olds, and 6 percent of those over the age of 65. Half of Americans (51%) under the age of 30 say they know someone, whether a family member or close friend, who has been laid off work.
Young Americans are also the most likely age demographic to report their work hours have been affected by the pandemic. A quarter (27%) of Americans under the age of 30 say they had their work hours reduced, compared to 23 percent of Americans ages 30 to 44, 18 percent of 45-to 64-year-olds, and 7 percent of Americans over the age of 65.
Five in seven young Americans (71%) under the age of 30 say they know someone, whether a family member or close friend, who has had their work hours reduced due to the pandemic. Three in five (62%) Americans between the ages of 30 to 44, 57 percent of 45-to 64-year-olds, and over half (55%) of Americans over the age of 65 say they have a family member or close friend who has had their hours reduced.
Of those who have shifted to working from home due to the pandemic, young Americans are on the top of that list. One in four (26%) Americans under 30 say they had to start working from home, compared to 23 percent of Americans ages 30 to 44, 20 percent of 45-to 64-year-olds, and 5 percent of those over the age of 65.
See the toplines and crosstabs from this week’s Economist/YouGov Poll
Methodology: The most recent Economist survey was conducted by YouGov using a nationally representative sample of 1,500 US adult citizens interviewed online between July 12 - 14, 2020. The approximate margin of error is 3.3 percentage points for the overall sample. Samples are weighted according to gender, age, race, and education based on the American Community Survey, conducted by the US Bureau of the Census, as well as 2016 Presidential vote, registration status, geographic region, and news interest. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of all US citizens.
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