Nearly all men between the ages of 35 and 44 — 96% — were still working the same job as before the pandemic, only 60% of women the same age were, according to the survey of 2033 Americans. The latest unemployment rate shows 8.9% unemployment for men in that age group and 9.4% for women in June.

A similar discrepancy shows up between men and women who are 45 to 54. More than three-quarters of men that age have the same job, but just under 6 in 10 women do, the survey found.

That difference, among others found in the survey, could mean it will take longer for women to recuperate from the pandemic’s economic effects — if they ever fully do.

“This recession already has undone years of work, and the implication for women in particular, really may be very long-lasting,” said Martha Gimbel, manager of economic research at Schmidt Future. “Losing a year of work is really devastating. That's what a lot of people are facing if the public health crisis doesn't get under control.”

Middle-aged women also fare worse than men when they become unemployed. Women between 35 and 54 are more likely to say job loss is permanent compared with men the same age. Just 1% of men between 35 and 44 and 45 and 54 report a permanent job loss, versus 8% of women between 35 and 44 and 4% of women between 45 and 54, according to the survey.

Women are more likely to work in sectors like state, local government, and education that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and will need more time to recover from this crisis.

“We are facing a long period of depressed consumer demand and women tend to work in services, but the service-providing industry has been devastated in this recession,” Gimbel said. “So, women may take a long time to see the jobs that they've been working in come back.”

‘It's hard to enjoy working from home when it involves doing two jobs’

‘Going to have really long repercussions’

Two-thirds of women between 34 and 45 found the government stimulus payment or unemployment benefits a great deal or somewhat helpful, compared with almost three-quarters of their male counterparts.

Women also see their financial recovery taking longer, with 84% of men between 35 and 44 anticipating their spending returning to normal in the next year, compared with just over half of women in the same age group.

This “is going to have really long repercussions,” according to Gimbel.

“So much of the gender wage gap is explained by differences in occupation and industry, and right now, you know it's going to be harder for women to make those moves into higher-paying occupations,” she said. “We can really see the gender wage gap held back by this for a really long period of time.”

Read the full article at Yahoo Finance.

Reopening businesses has started in many states and cities across the country. For people who have been working from home, some are chomping at the bit to get out of the house. Others, however, are not psyched.

So far, the forced work-from-home framework many companies have been forced to implement has been largely seen as a success by many businesses and workers, some of which have decided to allow more widespread remote work, like Facebook (FB), Twitter (TWTR), and Square (SQ). Most people have been able to get the job done from home.

Whether it’s better or not is another story. Just over half of people (51%) who have been working from home think it’s better, according to a recent survey from Yahoo Finance-Harris Poll, while 30% say it’s worse. Some surveys have shown even more optimism. According to Korn Ferry, almost two-thirds of its survey respondents said they are more productive from home.

Quality of the experience aside, there are still some people are excited to be back in the office and to see their colleagues, potentially get out of a small apartment, and being able to focus on work and not parenting — if there’s childcare, that is.

"One thing stands out in the stories of re-openings is that folks were eager to get back to life as they knew it pre-Covid-19,” Oppenheimer equity research wrote in a note on Monday. “Many of us are looking forward to seeing our colleagues at the office at some point in the not-too-distant future (even if at a social distance).”

Logistics and new outbreaks put a stick in the spokes

Companies like JPMorgan Chase in New York have been considering their reopening plans for their massive offices in Midtown Manhattan.

In a memo to employees, the bank said that it's time to go back in and plan to start on July 13, though some employees returned on June 22. The company is bringing back employees in waves and expects to be at around 20% occupancy until Labor Day. The idea is to go slow and figure things out for a larger fall return. Bank of America said Thursday it plans to bring employees back to offices in phases after Labor Day.

Companies like JPMorgan have rigorous safety protocols to adhere to, including temperature checks, face coverings, social distancing, more cleaning, and cafeteria changes. Above all, they say they will be flexible to accommodate employees.

Unfortunately, getting there is another story. For most people getting to an office in Manhattan, they ride the subway or other public transit. And for parents with childcare facilities that could be closed, that’s another bottleneck.

"I don’t see how anyone can be comfortable with going back to New York City offices anytime soon,” said Ryan Craggs, who works at Hearst Digital. “Of the 12 people on my subway car, four aren’t wearing masks properly. I am less concerned with the office building than public transit commuting.”

According to Reuters, just one in five New Yorkers will be able to get to work under the six-foot social distancing guidelines, which are essentially impossible to conform to for anyone using public transportation.

This may prove to be the weakest link. There aren’t any solutions yet to fix the bottleneck, and the MTA still recommends people to stay home if they can.

“I’m not comfortable taking mass transportation to work,” said Elana Tarlowe, who works in sales for Meredith.

There are a lot of workers like Craggs and Tarlowe who are concerned about various subway behavior like eating and manspreading, but also about the fact that it relies on a system of social trust.

"All it takes is one person not taking things seriously," said Craggs."All it takes is one person not taking things seriously," said Craggs.

A further question mark: the reopening itself. Company plans can go up in flames based on an order from a governor and based on the botched re-openings and rising cases across the country, there’s no reason why even places that already had their (first) peak may not see another one later.

All this is likely why 64% of workers aren’t comfortable going back to work in the next month — or more, according to a Citrix poll. A survey from Korn Ferry found that fewer than a third of workers said it's "highly likely" they'll be back when it reopens; and half said they're fearful to return due to health reasons, but most said they trust their employer to do a good job.

Workers appear to be ready for more blends of WFH/in office, with 59% of people expecting to work from home more often (3 days a week or more), according to a recent survey from Piper Sandler. Furthermore, surveys show that people are investing in their WFH setups even as reopening progresses.

For some people who left populous cities like New York during the virus’s surge in the spring or others who decided to press fast-forward on other life-stages, a return to the city is especially unappetizing.

"I would like to never go back to the office," said Caroline, who works in advertising and asked Yahoo Finance not to not to use her last name for obvious reasons. "Commuting is bad for sure, but spending 8 hours under hospital lighting with people I only kind of like? I feel like I have more ownership over my time and my life, frankly."

Not having to wear makeup or feel like career growth is linked to physical presentation, she added, was an added bonus.

The upside surprise for the great WFH experiment so far has been that for many, it’s been positive.

“I absolutely think working from home has been OK,” said Tarlowe. “I do miss the feeling of the team being together. But I’m surprised at how Webex has been able to fill that void. I was not expecting it.”

Read the full article at Yahoo Finance.

• Less than half of Americans say they would eat at a restaurant within a month of the coronavirus infection rate flattening, according to a recent Harris Poll shared with Business Insider.


• The poll, which surveyed over 3,000 Americans between June 26 and 29, found that only 40% of Americans would go out within a month of the infection rate flattening.


• Over 20% of those surveyed said it would take them longer than six months to dine out.


• The data indicate that restaurants and governments can't rely on partial reopenings to keep businesses afloat, and instead have to plan for a recovery hindered by hesitant consumers.

NEW YORK, June 29, 2020 — The Harris Poll and Yahoo Finance, part of Verizon Media, have formed a partnership to conduct an ongoing poll of investors, market and consumer trends. The surveys will be exclusive data sets for Yahoo Finance and will provide an additional stream of data-based coverage crucial to the over 80 million people who turn to the site every month for financial and business news.

“As market research experts, we understand the link between consumer sentiment and the market performance of brands,” says Will Johnson, CEO of The Harris Poll. “We’re here to help Yahoo Finance readers see that link, so they can be wiser about their investment decisions and achieve their investment goals, whether that’s a secure retirement, the purchase of a home, affording tuition for their children or to launch a new business.”

"Yahoo Finance connects our audience with the best experts, tools and information they need to stay informed, make smart financial decisions and achieve their goals,” said Andy Serwer, Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief. “We're excited to be working with The Harris Poll, one of the most respected names in market research, to delve into and explore topics that are of vital interest to our audience and partners.”

Working with Yahoo Finance editors, researchers at The Harris Poll will poll a representative sample of investors twice a month to detect changes in their outlook and sentiment and, through a series of topical questions, discover their opinions on relevant issues to Yahoo Finance’s readers as they seek to better understand the noisy world around them.

Results of the inaugural Yahoo Finance-The Harris Poll are being published today. Among the key takeaways from the first poll:

• The COVID-19-triggered recession is hitting women harder than men, with only 47% of women saying they are still in the same job they held before the pandemic hits versus 63% of men. Job losses hit Gen X women hardest, with 19% of women ages 35-44 saying they had been laid off or furloughed, compared to just 2% of men in that group.


• Across all age and income groups, Americans are cutting back, with 82% saying they have reduced spending. Again, there is a split between men and women, with 71% of all men predicting their spending will return to normal within a year versus 62% of women. And one in seven women ages 55-64 say they think their spending will never return to normal.


• Individuals are both pessimistic and optimistic when it comes to the markets. Four of 10 people expect their investments will lose value over the next five years, with another 10% foreseeing a gain of less than 5% over that time span. Yet one-third of people are bullish, saying this is a good time to invest in equities.

In 2017, The Harris Poll joined the Stagwell Group to create the largest independent data-driven digital market services firm in the U.S. The Harris Poll is run by Co-CEOs Will Johnson and John Gerzema, two veteran strategists with backgrounds in analytics and brand marketing from senior roles at WPP agencies BAV Consulting and Young & Rubicam.

About Yahoo Finance:

Yahoo Finance, a unit of Verizon Media, is the leading global source of business and finance news. Yahoo Finance’s expert coverage, content and live, daily bell-to-bell programming is available on desktop and mobile web via finance.yahoo.com, as well as the Yahoo Finance app, Android TV, Apple TV, Fire TV, Samsung TV+, Roku and on linear broadcast via Fios.

Read the full story at Yahoo Finance.