Poll: More Than 40 Percent of Americans Report Economic Struggle Amid Pandemic

The latest Monmouth University survey has found that 41 percent of Americans are experiencing economic hardships, saying they’ve lost income as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

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The impacts could be felt across all income brackets, with 42 percent of those making less than $50,000, 40 percent of those making between $50,000 and $100,000 and 43 percent of those making $100,000 or more reporting they’ve felt the adverse effects of the virus on their wallets.

30 percent of Americans report that someone in their household was let go from their job because of the virus. Seven percent reported that everyone in their household had lost their jobs. The deepest impact is felt by those making less than $100,000 a year, of which one-third are out of work.

Among the survey’s other findings:

• More than 20 percent of those surveyed say they’re struggling to pay their bills.
• 36 percent of those making less than $50,000 say they’re struggling to pay bills.
• 13 percent of those making between $50,000 and $100,000 say they’re struggling to pay bills.
• 12 percent of those making $100,000 or more say they’re struggling to pay bills.
• 27 percent say they’ve been working from home as a result of the pandemic, with those making more than $100,000 a year the likeliest to be able to work from home and those in the lowest income bracket being the least likely.

For now, 62 percent of those surveyed said they would say their economic situation is a stable one. 26 percent say they’re struggling and 11 percent report their economic situation is improving.

According to new data released by the Labor Department last week, 6.6 million additional Americans have filed for unemployment, bringing the number of unemployment claims nationwide to 16.6 million.

Alan Herrera

Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.