Younger Kiwis more concerned during the COVID-19 pandemic

New research from Unisys Corporation reveals younger New Zealanders are more worried about the impact of COVID-19 than older generations, according to the 2020 Unisys Security Index.

The longest-running snapshot of consumer security concerns conducted globally, the Unisys Security Index asked New Zealanders to assess their level of concern about how global health crises, such as the outbreak of the COVID-19, Ebola, or Zika virus impacted the economic stability of New Zealand; their job security; their financial security; their family’s physical health; and New Zealand’s health infrastructure. Overall, younger respondents are more concerned than older respondents (41% of 35-44-year olds are seriously concerned vs. 33% of 55-64-year olds) about the financial effects of the pandemic.

In the COVID-19 environment, New Zealanders are more concerned about the stability of the nation’s economy, health infrastructure and their family’s well-being than their personal health or data security. However, younger generations express significantly higher levels of concern for most areas and in particular their overall personal safety over the next six months (43% of 25-34 year old’s vs. 24% of 55-64 year old’s); their ability to meet essential financial obligations (51% vs. 24%); a serious national disaster occurring in New Zealand (56% vs. 37%); and national security in relation to war and terrorism (35% vs. 25%).

The high concern among young people mirrors the rising unemployment rates and corresponding registrations for Jobseeker support: so far, 12,589 people have been granted the COVID-19 Income Support Payment (CIRP), and it has been impacting younger generations to a much larger degree[1]. In New Zealand, the number of people receiving the Jobseeker (unemployed) benefit increased from about 151,000 before the country went into a lockdown in mid-March, to 190,456 in June. Fifty-five percent of the Jobseeker benefit recipients were young workers under the age of 40[2]. So even though the elderly are at most risk of the physical threat of COVID-19, younger generations are more likely to experience the economic threat. Simultaneously, New Zealand’s gross domestic product (GDP) fell 1.6 percent between January and March 2020) marking the first contraction of the economy in nine years as the nation felt the first impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These findings indicate that the pandemic is having a bigger financial impact on younger generations. Many millennials entered a workforce that hadn't yet recovered from the 2008 recession. Now they're being hit hard again by the pandemic,” said Ashwin Pal, Director Cyber Security, Unisys Asia Pacific.

Kiwis Trust Government Use of Technology in Emergency Response
The study also polled the New Zealand public’s willingness to share personal data with organisations or use a facial recognition app on their phone to confirm their identity.

Almost two in three (62%) New Zealanders say they would be willing to share their location data with police so that they could be located in an emergency. Whereas less than half are willing to share such information with the government to expedite access to citizen services such as drivers licence or social benefit applications (48%), expedite border processing in airports (46%), or share it with banks (47%) to identify suspicious activity in their accounts. Even less are willing to share information with health insurers (33%) or retailers (23%).

Overall, Kiwis are more receptive to using a mobile app with facial recognition to verify their identity to access online services from the government than with banks. The majority (58%) are willing to use such an app to apply for/renew driving licenses (58%) and approximately half are willing to use it to financial benefits (50%) or enable government agencies update their contact details (49%). Whereas only 41% are willing to use this type of mobile app to apply for a credit card or home loan with a bank.

“The findings suggest a high trust in the government collecting private data when it is for an emergency response, which reflects the relatively high levels of compliance among New Zealanders with the COVID-19 safety measures” says Mr. Pal.

See appendix for tables and graphs. For more information visit www.unisyssecurityindex.co.nz. 

[1] https://www.msd.govt.nz/documents/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/statistics/benefit/2020/monthly-public-update/monthly-benefits-update-june-2020.pdf

[2]https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/statistics/benefit/index.html