Malta’s Young People More Concerned By COVID-19’s Economic Impact Than Health Risk, Survey Finds
Young people in Malta are more concerned by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic than on the virus’ potential impact on their own health, a new survey has found.
EY conducted a survey among 700 Millennials (ages 25-39) and Gen Zers (ages 16-24) last August, and replies were gathered with the assistance of Lovin Malta.
Respondents were asked to rate their concern by the impacts of the pandemic, with five the most concerned and one the least concerned.
When asked how concerned they are by the impact of COVID-19 on their health, Millennials gave a score of 3.1 and Gen Zers a slightly higher score of 3.3, both above the mid-level range of concern.
However, when asked how concerned they are about its economic impact, Millennials provided a 3.8 score and Gen-Zers a slightly lower 3.5 score.
Interestingly, this economic concern doesn’t completely reflect personal fears about their own employment. In fact, when asked to rate their concern about COVID-19’s impact on their employment or prospective employment, Millennials gave a score of 3.0 and Gen-Zers a score of 3.3.
Asked to rate the current state of the Maltese economy, the vast majority of both Millennials (83%) and Gen Zers (80%) labeled it as either good or fair. Only 2% of Millennials and 1% of Gen Zers rated it as excellent, while 18% of Millennials and 16% of Gen Zers rated it as poor.
Meanwhile, while Gen Zers ranked COVID-19 as Malta’s greatest challenge, the pandemic only came in second among Millennials, seven points behind overdevelopment and only to points ahead of the environment.
“It’s encouraging to see that even as we battle the Covid-19 pandemic, the younger generations place the environment high on their agenda,” said Ronald Attard, EY Malta’s Country Managing Partner.
“Key issues such as overdevelopment dominate their thoughts and it would be unwise to not listen during this critical juncture that not only Malta finds itself in, but the entire world.”
“The country and the economy are still adjusting to the new realities brought about by the pandemic, but already we can see early warning signs, as fewer than would have been expected just 12 months ago actually refer to the economy as excellent or good.”
“The hope is that a year from now the actions being taken will mitigate damage and that these results change favourably, however the truth is there are still many unknowns which need to be overcome.”
What do you make of these survey findings?
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