Coronavirus impact : 87% citizens believe their income to take hit in next 12 months

With nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19 pandamic and most business and offices shut, 87 per cent citizens believe their household earnings in the next 12 months will reduce in comparison to last year, says the latest survey.

Percentage of citizens expecting earnings reduction in next one year has risen from 28 per cent to 87 per cent in just 45 days. 31 per cent state the reason for stress as job, business or finances, says survey conducted by LocalCircles, community social media platform.

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LocalCircles conducted a 2-poll survey to check the mood of the consumer in the current scenario and expected changes in income in the next one year. The survey received around 17,000 votes from 150+ districts of India.

To a question on what is making them feel stressed during this time of coronavirus lockdown, 31 per cent said job, business or finances, while 11 per cent said procuring essential supplies for household. 26 per cent said the negative news coming in from everywhere is giving the stress and 24 per cent said the fear of getting infected is making them stressed.

Results of the survey show that Indians have more things to worry about and the fear of getting infected is not the biggest reason for their stress. Running the house, having a job and maintaining their business turns out to be the major reasons for stress for Indians. For 11 per cent people, the biggest source of stress is procuring essential supplies.

The second question asked is how do they believe COVID-19 will impact their household income in the next 12 months. 26 per cent said they believe it will reduce by 50 per cent or more, while 25 per cent said it will reduce by 25-50 per cent. 12 per cent said it will reduce by up to 25 per cent and 24 per cent said it will definitely reduce but they are unsure by how much. Only 2 per cent respondents believe their income will rise in the next 12 months while 11 per cent said coronavirus will have no impact on their income.

This means that 87% citizens believe their income in this financial year will reduce in comparison to the last 12 months. Even the developed countries are struggling with an excruciating rate of unemployment, says the survey.