ifo Institute: Coronavirus Dominates Life in Germany More than in June
The coronavirus crisis is increasingly dominating people’s lives. In October, 86 percent of people in Germany reported they were preoccupied by Covid-19 and its consequences frequently or almost always. During the first wave in June, this figure was just 73 percent. This is one of the findings of an interdisciplinary study on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Health and involving the ifo Institute and the forsa opinion research institute, among others.
People’s income situations have so far been stable. In June, 76 percent of those surveyed said their household income was the same as it had been in February. In October, 77 percent reported their monthly net household income as unchanged. “This is due in large part to the German government’s decision to offer bridging aid, such as the short-time allowance,” says Clemens Fuest, President of the ifo Institute. Manfred Güllner, forsa’s Managing Director, adds: “People are now much more worried about becoming infected themselves.” This worry is reflected in, among others, savings patterns: 30 percent of households are spending a smaller proportion of their income than they did before the crisis began.
The share of self-employed who availed themselves of various kinds of aid during the coronavirus crisis remained unchanged between June and October: 35 percent drew on their private savings to cushion the effects on their business, 25 percent made use of state emergency aid, 15 percent deferred tax payments or reduced their prepayments, and 9 percent borrowed money from friends or relatives.
In October, 84 percent of those surveyed considered the policy measures adopted in March to combat the coronavirus pandemic to be correct, while 34 percent believed they do not go far enough. The share of those who said the measures do not go far enough or are not strict enough has doubled since June.
