Half of adults who say they were laid off because of the coronavirus pandemic remain unemployed, according to a new survey released Thursday.
Among those who say they personally lost a job due to the pandemic, half say they are still unemployed, a third have returned to their old job, and about 1 in 6 are in a different job than before, according to a new Pew Research Center survey conducted during the first two weeks of August.
In recent weeks, the United States has seen tens of million workers claiming unemployment benefits of all kinds and durations. The total unadjusted number of people claiming benefits from all programs for the week ending Sept. 5 was over 26 million, although that number is likely overstated because of reporting issues. For comparison, roughly 1.5 million people claimed benefits in the same week in 2019.
Even if they didn’t lose their job, many workers have had to reduce their hours or take a pay cut due to the pandemic-induced economic recession. About a third of all adults say this has happened to them or someone in their household, the Pew survey showed.
Overall, 1 in 4 adults have had trouble paying their bills since the coronavirus outbreak started, and a third have dipped into savings or retirement accounts to make ends meet.
The survey said that job disruption and financial struggles have been much more pronounced among adults with lower incomes, those without a college degree, and black and Hispanic Americans.
Among adults with lower incomes, those earning less than $39,800 a year, almost 50% of them said they have had trouble paying their bills since the start of the pandemic.
