CHICAGO, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Forty-three percent of Detroiters who were working before the COVID-19 pandemic have since lost their jobs, either on a temporary or permanent basis, according to a University of Michigan (UM) survey posted on the university's website on Tuesday.

The latest rapid-response COVID-19 survey from UM's Detroit Metro Area Communities Study (DMACS) was open from April 23 to May 7.

"We found that job losses were especially prevalent among people who were earning less income before the pandemic, people with less education and people of color," said Jeffrey Morenoff, one of the faculty research leads for DMACS, professor of sociology and director of the Population Studies Center at UM's Institute for Social Research.

"Even among Detroiters who are still working, 27 percent said their hours have been reduced since the pandemic. This loss of income takes a significant toll on people's long-term financial security."

Given the number of people who have lost their jobs in recent weeks, the DMACS results suggest the unemployment rate in Detroit is now 48 percent, twice the statewide unemployment rate and more than three times the U.S. unemployment rate.

Of the Detroiters who are still working, 43 percent primarily work outside their homes, 42 percent primarily work from home and 15 percent split their time between working from home and outside their homes.

The survey results show disparities by income level in terms of who faces potential health risks based on their ability to work from home. About two-thirds, or 68 percent, of Detroiters who are still employed with a household income of at least 60,000 U.S. dollars a year work primarily at home, compared to only 4 percent of people who are still employed with a household income of less than 30,000 dollars.

The latest DMACS survey also found that some 53 percent of Detroiters say they know someone who has gotten sick from the coronavirus and 38 percent say they know someone who has died from the coronavirus. Black residents are nearly four times as likely to know someone who has died from the virus as white residents.

More than a quarter of Detroiters say they have worried in the past seven days that they might run out of food.

About 40 percent of Detroiters say the ability to interact with others has been a major challenge, more so than getting medical care, having a place to live, or accessing household supplies or transportation.

Roughly a quarter, or 27 percent, of residents report delaying or not paying their rent or mortgage, 48 percent of Detroiters report delaying or skipping payments on outstanding loans like student loans or car loans, and 28 percent report skipping or deferring their utility bills during the pandemic.

Some 49 percent of Detroiters living in households with children under age 18 report they are spending more money during the pandemic, compared to 38 percent of those who live in households without children. Many respondents whose spending has increased during the pandemic said they are buying more food to provide meals for children who usually eat at school.