Study: Nearly half of adults say their family has lost work or income amid the pandemic
This widespread loss of income has stark impacts, as consumers worry about being able to pay their debts and afford medical costs.
Nearly two out of every five non-elderly adults reported that their family has lost jobs, work hours or work-related income as a result of the social distancing orders instituted in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to a recent study conducted by the Urban Institute.
The Urban Institute’s Health Reform Monitoring Survey found that 41.5% of adults have seen less work and income as a result of the pandemic response resulting in a cascading effect that touches all aspects of the economy from housing, to debt to health care.
Related: Half of Americans say they can’t afford COVID-19 costs
The survey polled around 9,000 adults aged 18 to 64 between March 25 and April 10 in order to understand the depth of the pandemic-induced recession and the efficacy of federal stimulus.
In March, governors across the United States began instituting varying “stay-at-home” orders requiring that the businesses close in order to maintain social distancing and lessen the loss of life and keep local hospitals from being overrun by coronavirus cases.
But these orders have taken its toll on the economy and, as the survey found, has sent unemployment rates skyrocketing as workers stay home and bills begin to stack up.
Among 41.5% of adults who reported a loss of work, the survey found that 17.1% were laid off, 28.8% were furloughed and 27.8% lost business or work-related income. The losses affected certain demographics more acutely than others. Low-income families, for example, reported much higher rates of lost income than wealthier families (51.1% and 32.2% respectively).
Yet the authors note that some workers saw gains in employment including nurses, warehouse workers and drivers. Over the entire sample, 2.4% said that they or somebody in their family found a new job, 5.6% said they increased their income and 12.4% reported increased work hours.
This widespread loss of income has stark consumer impacts, the survey found. Respondents worried about being able to work “enough hours” (38.5%), pay their debts (33.1%) and afford medical costs (26.4%).
Of the respondents who lost their jobs or income, 13.4% said they did not pay the full amount of their rent or mortgage or were late to pay. Nearly 30% said they were food insecure, and 22.5% said there was an unmet medical need in their family that has become cost prohibitive.
The stimulus response from the federal government, the $2 trillion CARES Act passed in late March, seeks to address these challenges through enhanced unemployment benefits, forgivable small-business loans and direct cash payments. But the study’s authors point to several flaws and oversights that render the stimulus inadequate to address the widespread unemployment and financial hardship laid out in the survey.
For example, tax filers without social security numbers are unable to receive a direct payment even if they paid taxes last year, and many are unable to access unemployment benefits because of state-level failures, the authors said.
“Changes to unemployment insurance are proving hard to implement, because the overwhelming number of claims are being processed through outdated state systems that must be modified to accommodate the new eligibility and benefit rules,” the study’s authors said.
The stimulus also fails to address some two of the country’s largest social safety nets: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid, the authors said. Because health insurance plans are often tied to employment, additional federal actions are required to address the coverage losses that come with mass unemployment.
The authors point to two specific studies that offer solutions. One suggests that the federal government should increase the federal match for Medicaid funding and tie the increases to the unemployment rate in each state. The other proposes that implementing a nationwide open enrollment period and increasing subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans.
Addressing these hardships, the authors concluded, is essential to maintaining the political will to continue social distancing measures.
“Alleviating financial and material hardships is not only vital to each person’s health and well-being but essential for combating the pandemic,” the authors wrote.
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