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Ah, the coronavirus. Although it’s had a negative impact on many of us, for those who are still working it’s meant setting up a small space at home to work from. It’s also meant that many have saved time on their daily commute – instead of traveling to the office our commute now consists of grabbing a cup of coffee and our breakfast, or maybe even a morning workout.

Let’s face it, if you commute, especially on public transport, the thought of going back to packed trains and armpits in your face can seem pretty unappealing. But, even if we are encouraged by our employers to get back in the office, would we rather remain at home to avoid traveling?

Do Brits miss our daily commute?

According to a recent study by Devitt Insurance, before the outbreak, 37% of commuters said they actually enjoyed their journey into work, whereas roughly 17% didn’t enjoy it at all. Surprisingly, since restrictions have eased and many businesses are opening again, their research found that of those who have returned to commuting, 46% said they actually enjoy their journey now, up from 37%!

Could this leap in people enjoying their commute be thanks to less packed services or more opting to cycle and walk to their places of work?

Stressful or joyful? Do we actually enjoy commuting?

Despite the rise in people enjoying their commute being quite high, the stress of traveling is still a huge concern for many. What with new restrictions and things to think about such as face masks, hand sanitizer, and having as little contact with surfaces as possible, it’s easy to see why 33% of those who were surveyed said they felt stressed during their commute!

According to the data, the South East holds the most stressed commuters at 37%, with the North West coming in a close second at 35%. At the other end of the scale, you’ll find those in the Midlands (29%) and in Wales (28.6%). It seems that on average, the further away from the capital you are, the less stressful your journey generally is!

Have our habits changed due to the coronavirus?

With the tiered system and the threat of another lockdown very much in the back of our minds still, how will things shift in this new COVID-19 world? Will people stick with hopping on public transport, or will many look to change the way they commute?

According to Devitt Insurance, a whopping 76% of commuters who used public transport to get to work before the lockdowns happened, plan to change to a totally different mode of traveling in the future. They also discovered that journeys via a motorbike had become the number one option for those looking to make a switch from public transport.

When you start traveling to the office or other workplace again, what will your commute look like?

The coronavirus pandemic has led to an unprecedented economic shutdown as thousands of “nonessential” businesses have closed their doors. The crisis disproportionately affects the 21.3% of American workers in retail, leisure, and hospitality who not only face lack of work, but also suffer from long-standing, below-average wages. According to the latest annual data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average hourly wage for workers in the retail trade and leisure and hospitality sectors was just $19.70 and $16.55 in 2019, compared to $28 per hour across all workers.

Overall, the share of workers in retail, leisure, and hospitality increased steadily from 1970 to 2016 when it peaked at 21.8%. This trend was largely driven by an increasing share of employment in restaurants and bars, while employment in retail stagnated. Even though the last few years have seen a modest decline in the share of workers in these two sectors overall, more than one-fifth of all U.S. workers were employed in either retail trade or leisure and hospitality in 2019, totaling over 32 million workers.

The share of employment in these industries varies widely across cities and states based on local economic conditions and levels of tourism. Nevada and Hawaii lead the nation in the share of employment in retail, leisure, and hospitality at 35.5% and 30.1%, respectively. At the low end, Kansas and Minnesota both have about 19% of their workforce employed in these sectors.

To find the locations with the workforces most impacted by COVID-19, researchers at Volusion used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the U.S. Census Bureau. The researchers ranked metro areas according to the share of workers employed in the retail trade and leisure and hospitality industries. Researchers also looked at the total number of retail trade workers, the total number of leisure and hospitality workers, the cost of living, and the percent of residents below the poverty level.

To improve relevance, only metropolitan areas with at least 100,000 people were included in the analysis. Additionally, metro areas were grouped into cohorts based on population size. Small metros have 100,000 to 349,000 residents; midsize metros have 350,000 to 999,999 residents; and large metros have at least 1,000,000 residents.

Here are the large metropolitan areas with the greatest share of employment in retail, leisure, and hospitality, making their workforces the most impacted during the coronavirus pandemic:

For more information, a detailed methodology, and complete results, you can find the original report on Volusion’s website: https://www.volusion.com/blog/cities-with-the-most-impacted-workforces-during-coronavirus/

Do Workers Actually Enjoy Commuting?

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