A new survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research provides further evidence that the pandemic was devastating for some Americans, while leaving others virtually unharmed or even in better shape, at least in terms of their finances. The outcome often depended on the type of work a person had and their pre-pandemic income level.
The pandemic has hit black and Latin American households in particular, as well as younger Americans, some of whom are now experiencing the second major economic crisis of their adult lives.
“I just felt like we were in a tougher position already, so (the pandemic) threw us even more under the mud,” said Kennard Taylor, a 20-year-old black college student at Jackson College. Taylor lost his job as a server in the campus cafeteria during the first few weeks of the pandemic and struggled to make rent and car payments while continuing his studies. He had to move back in with his family.
The survey shows that roughly half of Americans report having experienced at least some form of household income loss during the pandemic, including 25% who experienced a household layoff and 31% who said someone in the household was scheduled for fewer hours . Overall, 44% said their household suffered a loss of income from the pandemic, which is still affecting their finances.
The survey results are in line with the latest economic data. About 745,000 Americans applied for unemployment benefits in the week of February 22nd, according to the Department of Labor, and about 18 million Americans remain unemployed.
Thirty percent of Americans say their current household income is lower than when the pandemic started, while 16% say it is higher and 53% say there has been no change. About half of those who suffered some form of household income loss during the pandemic say their current household income is lower than it was before.
The survey results reflect what some economists call a “K-shaped recovery” with mixed fates among Americans. Those with office jobs were able to work from home, while those working in hard-hit industries such as entertainment, hospitality and travel suffered. The poor are struggling to recover financially compared to the rich, and black and Latin American households have not recovered as well as their white counterparts.
Logan DeWitt, 30, kept his government job during the pandemic because he could work remotely. But his wife, an educator, has lost her job and has returned to school after months of looking for a new one. Her financial situation was made even more difficult by the fact that her first child was born in the first few months of the pandemic.
“We had plans to get a house. We had to discard this idea and we consolidated ourselves to just one car. We cook a lot from home and buy in bulk, ”said DeWitt.
About 1 in 10 Americans say they couldn’t make an apartment payment in the past month because of the pandemic, and about as many say so on a credit card bill. Overall, about a quarter of Americans say they haven’t been able to pay one or more bills in the past month.
Thirty-eight percent of Hispanics and 29% of black Americans have experienced a layoff in their household at some point in the past year, compared to 21% of white Americans.
This recession has also hit younger Americans particularly hard. Forty percent of Americans under 30 now report a lower income than they did in March 2020. About 4 in 10 have fewer hours scheduled. About a quarter say they quit their job. Many millennials who experienced the Great Recession early in their adult lives are now experiencing another major financial crisis.
Congress is close to finalizing the Biden government’s $ 1.9 trillion stimulus package, which will include aid to many Americans and businesses still feeling the effects of the pandemic. The timing is crucial – many of the relief measures previously decided by Congress, particularly unemployment benefits, will expire in the next few weeks.
“It will really help us,” said Nikki Luman, 43, of Ohio. Luman worked part-time at her local library, which had to close in the first few weeks of the pandemic. The library is still low capacity due to COVID restrictions, which means fewer hours for them every week.
“That’s $ 400 a month we’ve been missing for the past year,” she said.
For some Americans, it’s not as bad as it was in the early stages of the pandemic, in part because of Washington’s earlier actions. Lifestyle changes – eating less, traveling less, no live entertainment – have also enabled some Americans to make their financial lives healthier. In the survey, around 4 in 10 say they saved more money than usual, and around 3 in 10 paid off their debts faster than usual.
Tracie Jürgens, 44, works in the truck industry. Jürgens said her income was gone in the first few weeks of the pandemic when demand for truckers collapsed. Jürgen’s boss was able to take out a loan through the small business paycheck protection program, which he used to buy new equipment in the summer when the situation recovered.
“I don’t know what I would have done if he hadn’t got another truck,” she said.
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Swanson answered from Washington. AP reporter Nathan Ellgren contributed to this report from Washington.
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The AP-NORC survey of 1,434 adults was conducted February 25 through March 1 using a sample from NORC’s AmeriSpeak probability-based panel, believed to be representative of the US population. The sample error rate for all respondents is plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
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On-line:
AP-NORC Center: http://www.apnorc.org/.
