Nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, roughly six-in-ten U.S. workers who say their jobs can mainly be done from home (59%) are working from home all or most of the time.
52% of Republicans say they have a great deal or fair amount of confidence in K-12 public school principals to act in the public’s best interests.
51% of working parents of children younger than 12 say it has been at least somewhat difficult to handle child care responsibilities recently.
Dealing with coronavirus has declined as a policy priority, especially among Republicans. This marks a shift from last year, when the economy and the coronavirus both topped the public’s policy agenda.
Nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, roughly six-in-ten U.S. workers who say their jobs can mainly be done from home (59%) are working from home all or most of the time.
Trust in scientists and medical scientists has fallen below pre-pandemic levels, with 29% of U.S. adults saying they have a great deal of confidence in medical scientists to act in the best interests of the public. This is down from 40% in November 2020 and 35% in January 2019, before COVID-19 emerged. Other prominent groups – including the military, police officers and public school principals – have also seen their ratings decline.
Americans are increasingly critical of the response to COVID-19 from elected officeholders and public health officials. Positive ratings of public health officials, such as those at the CDC, have fallen 10 points since August. And 60% of U.S. adults say they’ve felt confused as a result of changes to recommendations on how to slow the spread of COVID-19.
53% of parents of K-12 students say schools in the United States should be providing a mix of in-person and online instruction this winter.
37% of U.S. adults say they are following news about the coronavirus outbreak very closely. That is up from 31% in March 2021.
Among adults 25 and older who have no education beyond high school, more women have left the labor force than men.
As 2021 draws to a close, here are some of Pew Research Center’s most striking research findings from the past year.