Layoffs and pay cuts caused in the novel coronavirus pandemic have hit people on lower incomes hardest, a survey has found.A poll by Total Research Associates said that 26 per cent of working residents had been laid off.A total of 38 per cent told researchers their hours had been cut and 34 per cent had suffered a pay reduction.A TRA spokesman said: “Of note, these impacts have affected low-income earners to a much greater extent than those with higher incomes.“Further, reductions in work hours hit older residents, Bermudians and black residents to a greater extent than their counterparts and men and black residents are more likely to have seen a reduction in salary or pay.”The results came from a phone survey of 400 adults carried out between April 22 and 29. Almost six in ten of people — 59 per cent — who had been laid off said they had applied for Government unemployment benefits — and 55 per cent of those who had applied had got a payout by the time they were surveyed.Just over eight in ten people — 81 per cent — said they were concerned that they would contract Covid-19 and 78 per cent said they were concerned about the physical health of a family member.The TRA spokesman said: “There are differences across demographics with women and black residents expressing greater concern than their counterparts about contracting the virus.”Almost seven in ten people in the survey — 69 per cent — said they viewed the pandemic as a serious threat.The TRA spokesman said: “Across demographics, women and those with household incomes between $75,000 and $149,999 per year as opposed to those earning less, are more likely to see the pandemic as a serious threat.”