Over two-thirds of working Australians have had their employment impacted by the ‘Coronavirus Crisis’
New research from Roy Morgan into the impact of the ‘Coronavirus Crisis’ on Australia’s employment market shows over two-thirds of working Australians (68%) have had ‘a change to their employment’ due to the pandemic according to interviews with 1,444 Australians aged 14+ conducted over the last week.
Australians in the workforce were asked: “As a result of the Coronavirus Crisis, have you experienced any of the following employment changes.” Some people reported several changes to their working conditions since the Coronavirus like being stood down, having reduced hours and working from home. This reflects the changing nature of the situation for companies and employees as they navigate the crisis.
The impacts on workers include:
| ALL employment changes mentioned* | MOST SERIOUS employment change mentioned | |
| Having work hours reduced | 3.8m (25%) | 1.9m (12%) |
| Stood down for a period of time | 2.7m (18%) | 2.4m (15%) |
| Had an increase in their work hours | 2.5m (16%) | 1.5m (10%) |
| Not had any work offered | 2.4m (16%) | 1.2m (8%) |
| Working from home** | 1.6m (10%) | 1.4m (9%) |
| Had their pay reduced for same number of work hours | 1.4m (9%) | 320,000 (2%) |
| Been made redundant | 670,000 (4%) | 670,000 (4%) |
| Some other change to employment | 1.8m (11%) | 1.3m (8%) |
| TOTAL Had a change to employment | 10.5m (68%) | 10.5m (68%) |
*The figures in the ‘ALL employment changes mentioned’ column add to over 100% as many respondents mentioned more than one employment change they’ve had because of the coronavirus. **’Working from home’ was not offered as an option for those answering the survey. Those who mentioned ‘working from home’ had answered ‘some other change to employment’ and were separated out due to the large number of respondents mentioning this employment change.
For the 1.8 million (11%) who cite ‘some other change to their employment’ this includes being put on enforced leave, changes in work rostering, social distancing measures at work, split shifts, an increase in responsibility, a halt to business growth, precautions put in place at work, being in a vulnerable group for COVID-19 so not being able to take work and an inability to see clients face-to-face.
Analysing the impact on employment due to the ‘Coronavirus Crisis’ by size of organisation shows smaller businesses, including sole traders, have been the most heavily impacted by the Coronavirus Crisis – three-quarters of sole traders have been impacted.
For those working in organisations with 1,000 employees or more a bare majority of 54% have had their employment impacted in some way by the Coronavirus Crisis (46% have not).
Industries which have felt the least impact from the Coronavirus Crisis include Agriculture, Wholesale trade, Transport & Storage, Construction, Electricity, Gas & Water and Public Administration & Defence.
Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says the Coronavirus has had a huge impact on the Australian economy and employment market over the last month. Roy Morgan’s March unemployment estimates showed 1.4 million Australians were forced out of work in the latter half of March in response to Government restrictions:
“The impact has hit sole traders particularly hard. Three-quarters of sole traders have had their employment impacted due to the Coronavirus Crisis. In comparison only about half (54%) of those working at large organisations with over 1,000 employees have had their employment situation impacted.
“The disparate impact the Coronavirus is having on different types of organisations underlines why it is so important that Government stimulus to support those in need is properly targeted and calibrated to derive the most benefit. It also shows Governments must clearly outline a plan to emerge from the pandemic and transition the private sector back to a sustainable, and profitable, ‘new normal’ in the months ahead.”
As a result of the Coronavirus crisis, have you experienced any of the following employment changes?
Source: Roy Morgan multi-mode survey of Australians conducted on the weekend of April 17-19, 2020, n=912. Base: Working Australians aged 14+. Respondents were allowed to nominate multiple employment changes.
*’Working from home’ was not offered as an option for those answering the survey. Those who mentioned ‘working from home’ had answered ‘some other change to employment’ and were separated out due to the large number of respondents mentioning this employment change.
As a result of the Coronavirus crisis, has your employment status been impacted? By size of organisation.
Source: Roy Morgan multi-mode survey of Australians conducted on the weekend of April 17-19, 2020, n=912. Base: Working Australians aged 14+. Respondents were allowed to nominate multiple employment changes.
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Margin of Error
The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.
| Sample Size | Percentage Estimate |
| 40% – 60% | 25% or 75% | 10% or 90% | 5% or 95% | |
| 1,000 | ±3.0 | ±2.7 | ±1.9 | ±1.3 |
| 5,000 | ±1.4 | ±1.2 | ±0.8 | ±0.6 |
| 7,500 | ±1.1 | ±1.0 | ±0.7 | ±0.5 |
| 10,000 | ±1.0 | ±0.9 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 |
| 20,000 | ±0.7 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 |
| 50,000 | ±0.4 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 | ±0.2 |
