MA Coronavirus Poll: 16% Have Lost Jobs Since Crisis Began

Business shutdowns stemming from the new coronavirus have already hit Massachusetts residents hard, a new statewide poll found. Sixteen percent of residents surveyed said they had lost a job since the crisis began, and another 28 percent said they have lost pay.

The poll was conducted March 20 to 23, before Gov. Charlie Baker's order closing non-essential residents went into effect Tuesday.

MassINC Polling Group surveyed 597 residents by live telephone interviews with both landlines and cell phones. The poll has a 4 percent margin of error. It was sponsored by Boston-based health insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, as part of an ongoing tracking survey. The full results are available here.

The first round was conducted March 16 to 19, but the questions about lost jobs and pay were asked for the first time in the second round.

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The job and pay losses hit lower-income households the hardest, the pollster noted. 23 percent of people making $50,000 or lest said they lost a job, and over half of part-time workers said they've lost pay.

A majority of the state's workers, 55 percent, are now working remotely, according to the poll.

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Responses to other questions show the state's residents are taking the crisis seriously. Nearly half of residents, 46 percent, said view the new coronavirus as a threat to themselves, personally, and 65 percent said it poses a threat to people across the state. Those numbers are increases from 41 and 58 percent, respectively, in the first round of polling.

“It’s vital that the public recognize the serious threat posed by coronavirus and how important it is to slow the spread,” Blue Cross Vice President Katherine Dallow said. “Slowing the spread of a virulent virus, weeks after its emergence in the U.S., is not easy. In fact, as a society, it’s a painful process. But it is literally a matter of life and death.”

Just 4 percent of respondents said the crisis is getting less bad, while 66 percent said it's getting worse. Those numbers are little changed. Under 25 percent of residents think disruptions will last less than a month.

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Other results from the survey:

• 59 percent said the response in their area has been about right. 27 percent say it has not gone far enough.
• 60 percent are not seeing or visiting anyone, versus 46 in the first round.
• 89 percent are washing their hands more than usual, 92 percent are avoiding physical greetings, and 79 percent are cleaning surfaces more.
• 49 percent have canceled major travel plans.

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