36% Say It’s Time for America To Get Back to Work

A sizable number of voters are ready for America to begin returning to normal and think another six weeks is the most we can afford to remain closed down. Most worry, though, that they will get the coronavirus if they return to work.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 36% of Likely U.S. Voters think it is time for America to get back to work. Forty-nine percent (49%) disagree, but 15% are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Fifty-one percent (51%) of GOP voters think it is time for America to get back to work. Only 27% of Democrats and 32% of voters not affiliated with either major party agree.

Just 33% of all voters believe the United States can afford to remain locked down as long as government officials say is necessary. Twenty-three percent (23%) say America can only stay locked down until May 1, while another 27% set the limit at another six weeks. Twelve percent (12%) say the country has until the end of the summer.

Fifty-eight percent (58%) are more concerned personally about the health impact of the coronavirus than its financial impact. Thirty-six percent (36%) worry more about the financial impact.

But 71% are at least somewhat concerned personally about getting the coronavirus if they go back to work, with 41% who are Very Concerned.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted April 14-15, 2020 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

By the end of last month, one-third of Americans said they or someone in their close family was now unemployed thanks to the coronavirus. A whopping nine-out-of-10 were worried about the virus hitting them in the pocketbook.

Men are more concerned about the financial impact of the virus than women are and feel more strongly that America cannot afford to remain locked down.

While those under 40 are the most concerned about getting the coronavirus if they return to work, they also believe more strongly than their elders that it is time for America to get going again.

Blacks are less supportive of returning to work than whites and other minority voters and are far more fearful than the others of getting the coronavirus if they return to the workplace.

While 68% of Democrats and 54% of unaffiliated voters put their health concerns ahead of the virus’ financial impact, Republicans are almost evenly divided. Sixty-one percent (61%) of GOP voters and 51% of unaffiliateds think America cannot afford to remain locked down more than another six weeks, a view shared by just 39% of Democrats.

As the coronavirus closes many businesses and takes the stock market on a thrill ride, confidence in the U.S. economy has plunged, dropping a staggering 45 points from last month to 94.6 in the Rasmussen Reports Economic Index. This is the lowest finding in six years of surveying and four points below the April 2014 baseline.

Republicans have been skeptical of the coronavirus threat from the start, consistently supporting the government’s response but viewing Democrats and the media as alarmists trying to hurt the president politically.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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