MEDIA RELEASE: July 2020
Full-time employment on the Island is still held down by the current pandemic and a minority are facing various forms of financial hardship.
BERMUDA: Over the past four months, Narrative Research has been collecting up-to-date employment statistics on the Island given the rapidly changing work environment as a result of the pandemic. In March, full-time employment was among the highest it had been in the last two decades, however, in just one-month full-time employment dropped 8 percent. Two months later, as of June, full-time employment rose two points to 59 percent, hopefully an indication of future improvements.
What is perhaps more jarring is the significant impact that COVID-19 has had on residents’ personal finances and work situation. As of June, among those not already retired, four in ten residents had to rely on savings to meet their financial obligations, while more than one-third saw a reduction to their work hours and salary, and one-quarter experienced a work lay off, all as a result of the pandemic. Two in ten Islanders face concerns of losing their job in the coming weeks if things don’t change, while one in six have been unable to pay for their housing. Although positive it is not higher, one in ten Islanders note being unable to pay for essentials like food and electricity.
These results are part of a Bermuda Omnibus® survey conducted in June 2020 with a random sample of 400 adult residents of Bermuda (18 years of age or older). The results above are not commissioned by a third party, and were collected independently by Narrative Research. A sample size of 400 is a well-recognized market research industry standard and provides a representative sampling of Islanders. The survey was conducted by phone from June 3 – 15, 2020. A sample size of 400 surveys collected by telephone allows for a statistical margin of error to within ± 4.9 percentage points, 95 out of 100 times.
For more information, please contact:
Graham Redford, Managing Partner, Total Research Associates, 278-8882 or graham@narrativeresearch.bm
OR
Margaret Chapman, COO and Partner, Narrative Research, at (902) 493-3834 or mchapman@narrativeresearch.bm