Press Statement

Preasráiteas

24 June 2020

Go to release: Social Impact of COVID-19 Survey June 2020: A Snapshot of Experiences and Expectations in a Pandemic

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (24 June 2020) published some of the results of the second round of the Social Impact of COVID-19 Survey. This survey includes such topics as, compliance with official COVID-19 advice, changes in weight, personal concerns, spending, and working life since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis.

Commenting on the results, Statistician, Eva O’Regan, said: ‘The findings of the survey serve to highlight how people in Ireland have been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis in terms of their everyday life. 

For example, in June just under a half of respondents (47.7%) report being Very or Extremely concerned about other people’s ability to comply with government advice and guidelines regarding the phased easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

Almost three in five (59.9%) respondents rated their personal compliance with government advice and guidelines as High, compared to four in five (80.6%) in April.  Women were more likely than men to report High compliance in June, at 68.4% and 51.2% respectively. 

In terms of working life, almost one in five (18.5%) respondents are Very or Extremely concerned about their employer’s ability to provide a safe work environment in the context of COVID-19. One fifth (19.6%) of employee respondents currently working from home do not have a suitable workspace with adequate equipment.

More than one in five (21.3%) respondents report being Very or Extremely concerned about their own health in June, a decrease on the April figure of 25.8%.  Respondents aged 70 and over saw a 30% drop in the proportion reporting to be Very or Extremely concerned about their own health, decreasing from 42.5% in April to 29.6% in June – the largest drop amongst all age groups over this period.

Two in five respondents (40.9%) report that their weight has Increased since the implementation of COVID-19 restrictions.  Women were more likely than men to report an Increase in weight, 46.8% and 34.8% respectively.  A quarter (24.8%) of respondents with a Healthy BMI report an Increase in weight, compared to 44.9% for respondents classified as Overweight, and 55.5% for those classified as Obese.  Almost half (49.0%) of newly labour inactive respondents (those in employment before the onset of the COVID-19 crisis and currently not working) report an Increase in weight. This compares with 37.6% of respondents that are currently working.

Looking at income and expenditure, eight in ten respondents (79.8%) report they experienced reduced expenditure due to COVID-19 restrictions, while seven in ten (70.3%) report No change in their net income since the introduction of COVID-19 restrictions.

Of respondents that report reduced expenditure and/or an increase in income, just over half (51.1%) say that they have saved or intend to save some or all additional money. More than four in ten (46.9%) say that they spent or intend to spend additional money on Home improvements and furnishings, 36.3% on Garden improvements and furnishings and 26.3% on Future holidays.’

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