Survey: A third of workers who lost jobs, income or hours during pandemic have started a new job

Dive Brief:

One-third of workers who lost a job, income or hours due to the COVID-19 pandemic started a new job in that timeframe, according to May 13 survey results from Strada Education Network.
Latino Americans were the most likely group in the survey to have lost a job, income or hours, Strada said, while Latino and black individuals were more likely to have started new jobs than white Americans, a finding that held true across education levels. Among age groups, millennials were most likely to have lost jobs, income or hours, but they were also the most likely to have found new work.
Respondents in information technology, finance and construction and extraction were most likely to have started a new job during the pandemic, though IT and finance workers were among those most likely to fear losing their jobs. Conversely, workers in leisure, hospitality and personal care and services were among those least likely to have found new jobs.

Dive Insight:

The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 14.7% in April, a percentage-point increase of 10.3 from March, according to the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) monthly jobs report. In line with the data published by Strada, BLS found that April job losses were particularly heavy in leisure and hospitality.

Other observers have found the job loss caused by the pandemic has not been felt evenly across demographic groups. The Institute for Women's Policy Research, for example, found in April that job losses for women outnumbered job losses for men in nearly all sectors of the economy measured. A Pew Research Center report published in March found that U.S. black and Hispanic workers are disproportionately represented in industries that are at higher risk of experiencing job losses during the pandemic.

Workers with disabilities have experienced similar inequities — more than half have either lost their jobs, been laid off or furloughed, or believed they would soon lose their jobs, a survey earlier this month by Global Disability Inclusion found. A May report by HR management software company Gusto found workers under the age of 25 experienced a 93% higher rate of layoffs than those age 35 and older.

Companies have adjusted talent acquisition strategies in response to the pandemic in a variety of ways. More than 4 in 10 companies surveyed prior to April by Willis Towers Watson said they had either implemented a hiring freeze or reduced hiring, with seasonal workers being the target of such cutbacks for 1 in 5 respondents. Only 12% of those surveyed by said they had reduced or delayed salary increases for workers.

Those operating in essential industries have actually increased hiring, in some cases offering more to new employees to attract them. Lidl offered new temporary workers immediate eligibility for medical benefits that cover testing and treatment related to the novel coronavirus. In March, Albertsons said it would work with businesses forced to close during the pandemic, such as Regal Cinemas and Marriott International, to provide part-time jobs to workers at those companies who had been furloughed or had their hours cut.