More than 60% of the Wyoming residents polled for a University of Wyoming survey have seen their work hours or pay cut because of the coronavirus.
The university, in a news release Thursday, said its Survey and Analysis Center found that of the 494 people surveyed, 61.1% either had their own hours or wages cut or had a member of their immediate families whose hours or wages were reduced.
The survey, the second conducted by the center on issues related to coronavirus, also found that 39.5% of those questioned had either been laid off or lost their jobs or had an immediate family member who had lost a job because of COVID-19.
The survey was conducted on April 13 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
The number of people telling researchers they had been laid off or lost their jobs increased by 7.7% in the latest poll compared to the previous poll, conducted two weeks earlier.
Most of those questioned, 54.2%, said they have changed their daily routines quite a bit since the coronavirus surfaced in Wyoming, with 71.5% saying they are eating at restaurants less often. More than half, 51.8%, of those questioned said they are declining visits from friends and family and more than 77% said they are avoiding physical contact with others and spending more time at home.
Support remains high for steps taken to slow the spread of the coronavirus in Wyoming, with 84.4% backing the decision to close public schools and 82.2% supporting orders limiting public gatherings.
However, support for a “shelter-in-place” order for the state has declined, falling to 47.8% this week compared to 54.4% two weeks ago.
Concern over the impact of coronavirus on the nation’s economy grew slightly in the last two weeks to total 74.3%, an increase of 2.9 percentage points from two weeks ago.
A majority of those questioned, 61%, say they consider coronavirus a real threat, while 28.8% say it is being blown out of proportion, an increase of 4.6 percentage points from two weeks ago.
