coronavirus

The coronavirus pandemic has undoubtedly caused major financial impact across the glove. Specifically, in the U.S., more than 1.9 million people filed new claims for unemployment benefits during the last week of May. Many businesses have also been closing their doors as a result of not being able to stay afloat amid the economic crisis. Additionally, 40 million people have filed new claims for unemployment benefits. Gallup's Principal Economist Jonathan Rothwell says, "The COVID-19 pandemic has caused immense economic damage, but the harm has not been evenly felt. Workers who provide in-person services have borne the brunt of layoffs and wage reductions.” Gallup's COVID-19 Tracking Survey has been collecting information based on the economic impact on various job fields. The following ten occupations are the fields that have been hit the hardest. 1. Service Workers Service workers / U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Dylan Nuckolls / Released Laid off: 34% Reduced hours: 41% Reduced pay: 43% These occupations include food servers, bartenders, janitors, security guards, retail workers, and more. The loss of these jobs has forced many of these workers to file unemployment due to their payroll being limited or completely cut. RELATED: Iconic American Food Chains Are Filing For Bankruptcy As Sales Are ‘Hemorrhaging’ 2. Arts, design, entertainment and media workers Concert/show venues / Wikipedia Laid off: 25% Reduced hours: 27% Reduced pay: 48% When Broadway announced that they would be closing the district, it was a shock to many. Who could imagine NYC's biggest money-maker to close? This has affected not only Broadway, but many other theaters, venues for concerts, and more. This has forced a lot of arts/entertainment workers to resort to online streaming to make some sort of income. 3. Small business owners Small business owner / Nellis Air Force Base Laid off: 18% Reduced hours: 35% Reduced pay: 64% Small business owners have been greatly affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Thankfully, protections for them have been put in place by the government, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) which owners can apply for in receiving financial help. 4. Construction/mining workers Construction workers / Pxhere Laid off: 18% Reduced hours: 30% Reduced pay: 38% The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that construction-related occupations employed more than 2.6 million people age 55 and older in 2016. Prior to the pandemic, this occupation was actually known as one of the more popular jobs among older adults. 5. Transportation workers Drivers / Wikimedia Commons Laid off: 17% Reduced hours: 46% Reduced pay: 49% Many transportation workers, such as drivers for Uber, were hit hard by the pandemic. This is considering that social distancing measures were put into effect, meaning these drivers couldn't transport passengers from point A to point B. People tend to prefer driving jobs because of the part-time hours and making your own schedule. Read onto the NEXT page for more occupations affected by the pandemic... 6. Sales workers Sales pitcher / Flickr Laid off: 18% Reduced hours: 36% Reduced pay: 46% Many state and local governments closed nonessential stores when the coronavirus first hit. This meant that anyone working in sales was without work and potentially forced to file unemployment for some kind of supplemental income. 7. Manufacturing or production workers Manufacturing worker / Pxfuel Laid off: 15% Reduced hours: 32% Reduced pay: 36% Reports state that those in manufacturing jobs tend to stay with their employer rather than those in private-sector industries. 8. Installation, maintenance, or repair workers Repair workers / needpix Laid off: 14% Reduced hours: 32% Reduced pay: 32% Due to the fact that people in these jobs need to report on-site for their work, many of these jobs were suspended, especially during the peak of the pandemic. 9. Health care workers Healthcare worker / Health.mil Laid off: 13% Reduced hours: 31% Reduced pay: 32% Even though healthcare workers have been facing the front lines of this pandemic, the field has still been struggling. Many healthcare workers lost their jobs as some healthcare facilities have suspended elective medical procedures. 10. Clerical or office workers Office worker / Wikimedia Commons Laid off: 11% Reduced hours: 21% Reduced pay: 22% While some office workers have gotten lucky enough to be able to work from home, others have not been so lucky. Some people have had to endure limited work hours or even layoffs. We hope that more and more businesses are able to return back to normalcy as states continue reopening procedures.