After three successive weeks of decreasing concern from the general population about being in public spaces, we saw a considerable jump in discomfort this week, perhaps due to more headlines about more contagious new COVID variants. However, comfort resuming several normal activities (shopping in non-grocery stores, dining in at restaurants, and traveling) continued to increase. As a result, the data show a noticeable increase in people with plans to dine in at a restaurant in the next week and to travel via airplane in the next month.

While last week we observed a spike in people who said they were comfortable going to a major public event, it dropped back down in the most recent numbers. This has been a bit of a volatile stat over the past few months, but with President Biden promising to vaccinate 100 million Americans in his first 100 days, this is a stat to watch.

Employment

There was a slight upward trend in the percentage of people who said they have work ‘as usual’ this week, swapping spots with those who have experienced reduced hours or pay.

In general, the percentage of people who report being out of work is consistent week over week. The same can be said for those working remotely due to the pandemic over time: it’s been pretty consistent over the course of the pandemic, especially over the past six or seven months.

The smaller the company someone works for (or used to work for), the more likely they are to not be working or getting paid right now. 

Americans who are getting paid less or not at all are much more likely to expect their personal financial situation to remain the same or get worse over the next six months. 

Those in service or craftsmen-related occupations are the most likely to have reduced pay or none at all.

Level of education has a lot to do with whether someone is still working or getting paid right now. Those with advanced degrees are more likely to have retained work.

Some things are looking up: overall employment concern decreased slightly in this week’s numbers.

Ending on a positive note, optimism continues to grow: for the second week in a row, more people think it will be easier to find a new job over the next six months.Â