CHARLOTTE, NC (AP) – About 4 in 10 Americans say they still feel the financial impact of losing a job or income in their household because the economic recovery remains uneven a year after the coronavirus pandemic.
A new survey conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research provides further evidence that the pandemic was devastating for some Americans, leaving others virtually unharmed or even in better shape, at least when it comes to finances. their. The outcome often depended on the type of job a person had and the level of income before the pandemic.
The pandemic has particularly affected black and Latin American households, as well as younger Americans, some of whom are now going through the second major economic crisis in their adult lives.
“We felt like we were already in a harder position, so (the pandemic) threw us even more under the dirt,” said Kennard Taylor, a 20-year-old student at Jackson College. Taylor lost her job as a server in the campus cafe in the early weeks of the pandemic and struggled to rent and pay by car while continuing her studies. He had to move back with his family.
The survey shows that about half of Americans say they suffered at least some form of household income loss during the pandemic, including 25% who suffered a layoff and 31% who said someone in the household was scheduled for fewer hours. . In total, 44% said their household suffered income losses due to the pandemic, which still has an impact on their finances.
The results of the survey are consistent with recent economic data. About 745,000 Americans applied for unemployment benefits in the week of February 22, according to the Department of Labor, and about 18 million Americans remain on the unemployment lists.
Thirty percent of Americans say their current household income is lower than it was when the pandemic began, while 16% say it is higher and 53% say there have been no changes. About half of those who suffered any form of household income loss during the pandemic say their current household income is lower than it was.
The results of the survey reflect what some economists have called a “K-shaped recovery,” where there have been divergent fortunes among Americans. Those with office jobs managed to move from work to home, while those who worked in severely affected industries, such as entertainment, restaurants and travel, suffered. The poor struggled to recover financially compared to the rich, and black and Latino households did not recover as well as their white counterparts.
Logan DeWitt, 30, kept his job in pandemic governance because he could work remotely. But his wife, a childcare worker, lost her job and, after months of searching for a new one, returned to school. Their financial situation was further complicated by the fact that their first child was born in the first months of the pandemic.
“We had plans to get a house. I had to give up this idea and we consolidated up to a single car. We cook a lot from home and buy in bulk, ”said DeWitt.
About 1 in 10 Americans say they have been unable to make a home payment in the last month because of the pandemic, and about as many say a credit card bill. Overall, about a quarter of Americans say they have been unable to pay one or more bills in the past month.
Thirty-eight percent of Hispanics and 29 percent of black Americans have been laid off in their household at some point in the past year, compared to 21 percent of white Americans.
This recession has been particularly difficult for young Americans. Forty percent of Americans under the age of 30 report lower incomes now, compared to March 2020. About 4 out of 10 were scheduled for fewer hours. About a quarter say they quit their jobs. Many millennials, who experienced the Great Recession at the beginning of their adult lives, are now facing another major financial crisis.
Congress finalizes $ 1.9 trillion Biden stimulus package which includes aid to many Americans and companies that still feel the impact of the pandemic. The timing is crucial – many of the aid measures previously adopted by Congress, especially unemployment benefits, will end in the coming weeks.
“It will really help us,” said Nikki Luman, 43, of Ohio. Luman worked part-time at his local library, which had to close in the first weeks of the pandemic. The library still operates at a reduced capacity due to COVID restrictions, which translates into fewer hours for it each week.
“That’s $ 400 a month, which we’ve been missing for the last year,” she said.
Things are not as terrible as they were in the early stages of the pandemic for some Americans, in part because of previous measures taken by Washington. Also, lifestyle changes – less eating out, less traveling, no live entertainment – have allowed some Americans to make their financial lives healthier. In the survey, about 4 out of 10 say they saved more money than usual and about 3 out of 10 paid off the debt faster than usual.
Tracie Jurgens, 44, works in the truck industry. Jurgens said his income evaporated in the first weeks of the pandemic as demand for truckers dropped. Chief Jurgen was able to obtain a loan through the Small Business Wage Protection Program, which he used to purchase new equipment in the summer as things began to recover.
“I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t taken another truck,” she said.
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Swanson reported from Washington. AP reporter Nathan Ellgren contributed to the Washington report.
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The AP-NORC survey of 1,434 adults was conducted between February 25 and March 1 using a sample from the probability-based NORC AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the US population. The sampling error margin for all respondents is plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
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Online:
AP-NORC Center: http://www.apnorc.org/.