US families fear jobs lost to pandemic are gone for good

Nearly half of Americans whose families experienced layoffs during the coronavirus pandemic now believe those jobs are lost forever, a new poll shows, as temporary cutbacks give way to shuttered businesses, bankruptcies and lasting payroll cuts.

It is a sharp change after initial optimism the jobs would return. In April, 78 percent of those in households with a job loss thought it would only be temporary. Now, 47 percent think that lost jobs are definitely or probably not coming back, according to the latest poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

That translates into roughly 10 million workers who will need to find a new employer, if not a new occupation.

The poll is the latest sign the solid hiring of May and June, as some states lifted stay-at-home orders and the economy began to recover, may wane as the year goes on. Adding to the challenge, many students will begin the school-year online, making it harder for parents to take jobs outside their homes.

“Honestly, at this point, there’s not going to be a job to go back to,” said Tonica Daley, 35, who lives in Riverside, California, and has four children ranging from three to 18 years old. “The kids are going to do virtual school, and there is no daycare.”

Daley was furloughed from her job as a manager at JC Penney, which has filed for bankruptcy protection. The extra $600 a week in jobless benefits Congress provided as part of the federal government’s coronavirus relief efforts let her family pay down its credit cards, she said, but the potential expiration or reduction of those benefits in August would force her to borrow money to get by.

I don't disagree with everything the president does, but his leadership on the coronavirus issue has been lacking.

by Danny Vaughn, 72, from Dade City, Florida

The economy’s recovery has shown signs of stalling amid a resurgence of the coronavirus. The number of laid-off workers seeking jobless benefits rose last week for the first time since March, while the number of US infections shot past four million – with many more cases undetected or unreported.

The poll shows that 72 percent of Americans would rather have restrictions in place in their communities to stop the spread of COVID-19 than remove them in an effort to help the economy. Just 27 percent want to prioritise the economy over efforts to stop the outbreak.

“The only real end to this pandemic problem is the successful application of vaccines,” said 82-year-old Fred Folkman, a business professor from Long Island, in New York.

About nine in 10 Democrats prioritise stopping the virus, while Republicans are more evenly divided – 46 percent focus on stopping the spread, while 53 percent say the economy is the bigger priority.

President Donald Trump and Congress have yet to agree to a new aid package. Democrats, who control the House, have championed an additional $3 trillion in help, including money for state and local governments. Republicans, who control the Senate, have proposed $1 trillion, decreasing the size of the expanded unemployment benefits.

Overall, about half of Americans say they or someone in their household has lost some kind of income over the course of the pandemic. That includes 27 percent who say someone has been laid off, 33 percent who have been scheduled for fewer hours, 24 percent who have taken unpaid time off and 29 percent who have had wages or salaries reduced.

Eighteen percent of those who lost a household job now say it has come back, while another 34 percent still expect it to return.

The poll continues to show the pandemic’s disparate effect. About six in 10 non-white Americans say they have lost a source of household income, compared with about half of white Americans. Forty-six percent of those with college degrees say they have lost some form of household income, compared with 56 percent of those without.

Trump’s approval rating on handling the economy stands at 48 percent, consistent with where it stood a month ago but down from January and March, when 56 percent said they approved. Still, the economy remains Trump’s strongest issue. Working to Trump’s advantage, 88 percent of Republicans – including 85 percent of those whose households have lost income during the pandemic – approve of his handling of the economy. Eighty-two percent of Democrats disapprove.

“A lot of people criticize our president, but he’s a cheerleader,” said Jim Russ, 74, a retired state worker from Austin, Texas. “As long we keep that, the American public will think positive and look positive.”

Honestly, at this point, there's not going to be a job to go back to.

by Tonica Daley, 35, from Riverside, California

The poll suggests 38 percent of Americans think the national economy is good. That is about the same as in June and up from 29 percent in May but far below the 67 percent who felt that way in January.

Sixty-four percent of Republicans think the economy is good, compared with 19 percent of Democrats. Likewise, 59 percent of Republicans expect the economy to improve in the next year, while Democrats are more likely to expect it to worsen than improve, 47 percent to 29 percent respectively.

Sixty-five percent of Americans also call their personal financial situation good. That is about the same as it has been throughout the pandemic and before the crisis began. Still, Americans are slightly less likely than they were a month ago to expect their personal financial situation to improve in the next year. Thirty-three percent say that now, after 38 percent said so a month ago. Another 16 percent expect their finances to worsen, while 51 percent expect no changes.

So much of what happens in the economy will depend on the trajectory of the virus, said Danny Vaughn, 72, from Dade City, Florida.

“I don’t disagree with everything the president does, but his leadership on the coronavirus issue has been lacking,” Vaughn said. “And that’s the number one issue facing the American people right now.”