Nearly 1 in 6 adult Jewish New Yorkers experienced financial setbacks during the pandemic, and three quarters of Jewish New Yorkers who said they have a substance abuse problem said it worsened during that period.
That’s according to a new study by UJA-Federation, which surveyed 4,400 Jews in and around New York City to guide its philanthropic efforts to meet the most pressing needs of New Yorkers.
The survey found that while Jewish New Yorkers overall experienced less severe economic and psychological effects of the pandemic than other populations, they were hardly unaffected.
The poll found that 22% of adults in Jewish households faced reduced hours or income in the last year, 8% had been laid off and 12% had been furloughed.
It also found a 12% unemployment rate for adults in Jewish households compared with 10% in the overall population in New York City and Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties.
The study found that 1 in 5 adults in Jewish households reported symptoms of anxiety and depression, and 1 in 5 has experienced more symptoms since the start of the pandemic.
One in 10 adults in Jewish households indicate they have a substance abuse problem, and 72% of those who reported an abuse problem said it worsened during the pandemic.
Those numbers are lower than the Centers for Disease Control reported for the population as a whole from August 2020 through February 2021, when the percentage of adults with recent symptoms of an anxiety or a depressive disorder increased from 36.4% to 41.5%.
Similarly, almost half of all workers and a majority of low-wage workers in New York City lost employment income in the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Robin Hood, an anti-poverty foundation.
Source: JTA via Arutz Sheva