8 in 10 have lost income in lockdown

ALMOST 8 in 10 South Africans say their household income has been cut as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, while 1 in 10 have already lost their jobs.

This is according to new research from consumer credit reporting agency TransUnion.

An additional 7% of South African adults expected their household income would suffer in the future, it said yesterday.

Economists have predicted substantial job losses and business closures due to the effects of the Covid-19 lockdown on the economy.

TransUnion’s South Africa survey started in the week of April 6.

“Whether it’s their health, financial well-being or changes in day-to-day living, the lives of millions of people here and abroad have been dramatically changed,” said Lee Naik, chief executive of TransUnion Africa.

TransUnion’s research found that some generations, particularly millennials, were more affected financially by the pandemic than others.

While 89% of consumers who had less income due to the effects of the pandemic were worried about paying their bills, this increased to 92% for millennials and 95% for Gen X.

On average, respondents said they would be short of about R7000 in the near future.

When looking at the timing of any expected shortfall, 45% of affected consumers said it would be longer than one month but less than three months, while 23% expected to feel the impact between two to four weeks from now.

Some provinces were affected by the job losses more than others, with the figure at 12% of respondents from the Western Cape, 11% from North West and 10% from KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, the younger generation being more acutely affected by job loss.

The survey found that 29% of consumers said they planned to use their savings to pay current bills; 22% said they would borrow money from a friend or family member, 27% did not know how they were going to pay their bills or loans and 33% said they would only pay a partial amount that they could afford.

Two in five had already reached out to companies with which they had accounts in order to discuss payment options.

With the next few months likely to be especially tough for food-vulnerable communities, the Massmart board and its executives directors, together with their US-based parent, Walmart International, have donated 460 tons of food to see vulnerable communities through the Covid-19 crisis.

The Massmart board and its directors said they had personally donated 230 tons of food to non-profit organisation FoodForward South Africa, funded by a waiver from their monthly remuneration, which would be delivered over a period of three months, starting in April, at a rate of 77 tons a month.