ORLANDO, Fla. – Millions of Floridians aren’t confident they can pay rent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The bureau has been administering what it calls Household Pulse Surveys since the first few weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, getting a gauge on how the COVID-19 outbreak has impacted communities all over the nation in terms of healthcare, education, unemployment and the overall economy.
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In the fifth week of its survey, which was conducted between May 28-June 2, revealed that more than a million Floridians reported they have “no confidence” in being able to make rent.
Teams with the Census Bureau surveyed more than 5 million Floridians, with more than a quarter describing little to no confidence to be able to make payment and expressing housing insecurity. The survey responses are broken into percentages below.
| Occupied without rent | No confidence | Slight confidence | Moderate confidence | High confidence | Deferred rent | No report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.23% | 20.9% | 17.1% | 24.3% | 32.6% | 0.64% | 1.23% |
| 162,574 | 1,050,652 | 859,937 | 1,219,824 | 1,637,197 | 31,973 | 61,664 |
Of those who responded, more than 1.6 million residents said they have high confidence they’ll be able to make their rent payment and about another million renters expressing they have “moderate confidence” which the Census Bureau describes much like a 50/50 chance.
The data reveals that a majority of those surveyed fall within the 25-54 age range, note the data is organized by household rather than by individual respondents. According to the data, most of the respondents are married.
Nearly 3 million of the households who responded to the survey reported it had an income of less than $34,999. The next income bracket with most respondents fell between $35,000-$74,999.
The Household Pulse Survey also asks questions regarding to employment, an ongoing issue as the coronavirus pandemic shutdown state economies and forced business closures across the nation.
Though Florida is working to revive its economy while in phase two of its reopening process, about half of the respondents reported they are currently unemployed. When asked if a household member experienced loss of employment income, 3/4 of those surveyed reported yes.
| Repondent or household member experienced loss of employment income | Respondent currently employed | |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 63.46% | 47.87% |
| No | 35.65% | 51.39% |
| Did not report | 0.89% | 0.64% |
In April, Florida’s unemployment rate hit 12.9%, up from 2.8% in February, according to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. Figures for May haven’t yet been released. The unemployment report shows the latest figures as millions of Floridians are battling the state’s unemployment system for benefits.
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Even though there is no hard deadline for the end of the pandemic or the next phase of Florida’s reopening process, census data shows there’s a downward trend when it comes to the expected loss of employment income. The metric a sign that Floridians are feeling hopeful that they won’t lose the jobs they’ve regained or expect to be unemployed anytime soon.