ARC: 13% of Cobb residents lost jobs/furloughed since COVID

Submitted information:

13% of Cobb County residents who were employed before the pandemic were laid-off, terminated, or furloughed due to the COVID-19 virus, and 14% of residents have received help from a food bank since March, according to the Atlanta Regional Commission’s 2020 Metro Atlanta Speaks Survey, released today [Nov. 13] at the agency’s virtual State of the Region Breakfast.

These were among findings from new survey questions that gauged how the pandemic and related economic downturn has affected the Atlanta region. Highlights include:

• 42% of all responding said that they either had hours or waged reduced or had to quit for safety reasons.
• Half of Cobb residents said they knew someone who had contracted COVID-19.
• 43% of Cobb workers said they had worked from home as a result of the pandemic — the highest percentage of any of metro Atlanta’s ten counties.

This year’s survey also provided insights into the state of race relations in metro Atlanta, a topic that drew heightened attention during this summer’s demonstrations. On a new question this year, 71% of Cobb residents either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement: “Discrimination against Black people in the United States is a serious problem.”

Other Cobb highlights included:

• Residents named public health (18%) the biggest problem facing the region, followed by crime (17%).
• 11% of Cobb residents are only slightly or not at all confident in their ability to make their next mortgage or rent payment.
• 28% of Cobb residents wouldn’t be able to cover a $400 financial emergency could do so only by selling something or borrowing money or didn’t know how they would pay.

Regional Results:

• One in four respondents said they had been laid-off, terminated, or furloughed because of the virus.

• Nearly half (45%) of responses indicated they’d experienced reduced hours or wages or had to quit their jobs for safety reasons.
• Nearly 1 in 5 (18%) received help from a food bank since March.

• Nearly 58% said they knew someone who had contracted COVID-19.
• One-third of respondents said they had worked from home as a result of the pandemic.

Nearly 12% of survey respondents named race relations as the region’s biggest concern, compared to just 4% in 2019. And more than three-quarters of respondents (77%) either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement: “Discrimination against Black people in the United States is a serious problem.”

Race relations is a particular issue of concern to young adults ages 18-34, the survey showed. Among respondents in this age group, 90% said they agreed or strongly agreed that discrimination against Black people is a serious problem, compared to 64% of those age 65 and older.

“This year’s Metro Atlanta Speaks Survey demonstrates how the pandemic and related economic fallout have exacerbated long-standing disparities in our community,” said Doug Hooker, Executive Director of the Atlanta Regional Commission. “Now, more than ever, we need to come together, actively listen to one another, and forge solutions to act upon, so we can build bridges of understanding and pathways toward progress, which create a region that works for all residents.” 

The 2020 survey, conducted by Kennesaw State University’s A.L. Burruss Institute of Public Service and Research, asked questions of 4,400 people across 10 counties about key quality-of-life issues.  Survey results are statistically valid for each of those 10 counties and the city of Atlanta, with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.5% for the 10-county region as a whole and plus or minus 3.8% to 5% for the individual jurisdictions.

The Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta is a supporter of the 2020 Metro Atlanta Speaks survey.

For additional information about the 2020 survey, including county level results, please visit atlantaregional.org/metroatlantaspeaks.

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