More than a third of G7 citizens see virus hit to incomes: poll

More than a third of people living in the Group of Seven rich nations say the novel coronavirus pandemic has already hurt their earnings, a poll showed on Friday.

Market research firm Kantar said 37% reported a drop in earnings, while 8% said they had lost their entire income.

The findings underline the enormous economic hit from the lockdowns enforced to slow the spread of the virus, which has killed more than 130 000 people worldwide.

On Tuesday the International Monetary Fund said the global economy is expected to shrink by 3.0% during 2020 in a stunning coronavirus-driven collapse of activity that will mark the steepest downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Italy, Canada and the United States contained the largest proportion of respondents who say their income has or will be hurt by the coronavirus outbreak, the Kantar survey showed.

The survey of around 1,000 people in each G7 country took place online between April 9 and April 13.