AP reports from Washington that one out of every four American adults say someone in their household has lost a job to the coronavirus pandemic, but the vast majority expect those former jobs will return once the crisis passes, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
The economic devastation writ by COVID-19 is evident: 26.4 million people have lost their job in the past five weeks, millions of homeowners are delaying mortgage payments and food banks are seeing lines of cars that stretch for miles. Forty-six percent of all Americans say their household has experienced some form of income loss from layoffs, reduced hours, unpaid leave or salary reductions.
And yet, the survey finds a majority of Americans still feel positive about their personal finances. One possible reason: Among those whose households have experienced a layoff, 78% believe those former jobs will definitely or probably return. Another positive sign: The percentage of workers who report their household has lost a source of income is not significantly different from a few weeks ago.
Seventy-one percent of Americans now describe the national economy as poor, up from 60% three weeks ago and 33% in January. At the same time, 64% call their personal financial situation good — a number that remains largely unchanged since before the virus outbreak commenced.
Some of the resiliency can likely be traced to the nearly $2 trillion rescue package enacted by Congress that expanded jobless benefits, extended forgivable loans to small businesses and provided a government paycheck to most Americans — money that has helped stabilize some families’ finances.
Read the full report at thenationalherald.com
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