One in Five Americans is Affected by the Shutdown

According to a survey by The Economist and market researcher YouGov, 21 percent of Americans reported to be personally affected by the government shutdown in a poll conducted between Jan 12 and Jan 15. 46 percent of people said they knew someone who was personally affected by the limited operability of the government which has been shut down following a disagreement between Republicans and Democrats about building a wall on the Southern border with Mexico.

The most commonly reported problem that people were encountering was trying to access a government service that was not operating due to the shutdown. Eight percent of Americans questioned reported this problem. Seven percent said that they wanted to visit a national monument or park but couldn’t. Five percent reported that their business was affected. The same amount complained about a government website not being operational.

The survey also asked people if they had sympathy for furloughed federal workers. 76 percent of Americans registered as Democrats said they had “a great deal” of sympathy, compared to only 33 percent of voters registered as Republicans. Even though Democrats and Republicans reported to being affected by the different aspects of the government shutdown in similar numbers, Democrats more often claimed to know someone affected than Republicans.