Three in five Americans are highly concerned about the coronavirus and half are similarly concerned about the state of the economy, according to LIMRA's latest consumer sentiment study.
"We continue to see a difference in the level of concern about the pandemic and the economy based on political leaning," LIMRA's Head of Research Alison Salka said in a statement. "Consumers who identify as liberal are much more likely to express higher levels of concern than those who identify as conservative."
The breakdown over COVID-19:
- Liberals – 77% are extremely or very concerned (vs. 72% in March);
- Conservatives – 44% are extremely or very concerned (vs. 47% in March)
And their views on the U.S. economy are as follows
- Liberals – 60% are extremely or very concerned (vs. 68% in March);
- Conservatives – 44% are extremely or very concerned (vs. 48% in March)
Given this dichotomy, Salka said, policymakers and leaders will be challenged to implement policies that both sides of the political spectrum welcome.
The survey was fielded Oct. 1 and 2 among 3,033 American adults.
Concerns have receded since March, but 55% of survey respondents still said they were very or extremely concerned about the federal government's ability to manage the crisis, and 54% worried about the coronavirus's effect on the economy.
Survey participants also expressed concerns, though to a lesser degree, about the health care system's ability to manage the influx of patients and their local government's ability to manage the crisis.
More consumers appeared to be feeling the negative effects of the recession in October than in July, according to the survey's results.
Forty percent of employed respondents said the economic downturn had strongly affected their ability to save for retirement, up from 37% in July. Forty-one percent of workers said the same about their job security, versus 33% in July.
And 28% were worried about maintaining their housing, up two percentage points from three months ago.
