More than half of voters under 45 say they'd lost jobs or hours to coronavirus, report finds

Young Americans are seeing some of the harshest economic effects of the coronavirus crisis.

Unemployment claims have smashed records in the past few weeks as businesses close to protect against the spread of COVID-19. And as a report released last week from progressive think tank Data for Progress finds, it's more than just all-out job loss that is hurting Americans.

Data for Progress' survey of American voters found 52 percent of those under 45 day they'd lost their jobs or working hours due to the pandemic. Just 26 percent of voters over 45 said the same. College-educated voters also saw greater job loss due to the pandemic, with 37 of those with a degree reporting job loss but 32 percent of those without a degree saying the same.

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And while job loss barely differed among respondents of different political parties, 45 percent of African American respondents reported lost jobs or hours, as opposed to 31 percent of white voters saying the same. That reflects the fact that black Americans have disproportionately faced coronavirus cases and deaths, Data for Progress notes.

Data for Progress surveyed 2,644 likely voters via a web panel from April 5-6, weighting the results to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, urbanicity, race, and voting history. The margin of error is ± 1.9 percent.