This Labor Day Holiday is a time to celebrate American workers. But this year it’s also a time to take a look at how they have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. While the job numbers are improving in Georgia and the rest of the nation, the unemployment rate is still much higher than normal.
The personal finance website WalletHub conducted a survey of American workers regarding their concerns.
“The vast majority of Americans, at 74 percent, think that Congress should extend the extra unemployment benefits until the pandemic is over,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “Opinions differ across income brackets, as 83 percent of low-income Americans are in favor of an extension of extra benefits until the end of the pandemic, compared to 63 percent of high-income.” Americans.
According to analyst Jill Gonzalez, half of those surveyed say their workload has increased during the pandemic.
“Half of Americans say they have worked harder since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Middle-class Americans were the most likely to say they have worked harder, followed by high-income and then low-income Americans.”
And they expressed concerns about job security.
“About 1 in 3 Americans worry about their job security, which makes sense considering the extremely high rate of unemployment in the U.S. right now. Women are less likely than men to be concerned about job security, even though recent data shows that women are losing their jobs at a greater rate than men during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
In addition to employment concerns, most Americans felt they could not count on their fellow residents to take precautions this holiday.
“Most Americans, at 77 percent, do not trust others to be responsible about social distancing this Labor Day,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “Adults under 30 years old are more than twice as likely as those aged 59+ to trust that others will practice social distancing. This makes sense considering the fact that the elderly are more vulnerable to serious symptoms from COVID-19 and thus must practice an especially high level of caution.”
For complete survey results, visit WalletHub.com.
