Poll reveals four in 10 Americans still feel economic pain of pandemic

New York, March 10 (RHC)-- Roughly four in 10 Americans say they’re still feeling the financial impact of the loss of a job or income within their household as the economic recovery remains uneven one year into the coronavirus pandemic.

A new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research provides further evidence that the pandemic has been devastating for some Americans, while leaving others virtually unscathed or even in better shape, at least when it comes to their finances.  The outcome often depended on the type of job a person had and their income level before the pandemic.

The pandemic has particularly hurt Black and Latino households, as well as younger Americans, some of whom are now going through the second major economic crisis of their adult lives.  “I just felt like we were already in a harder position, so [the pandemic] kind of threw us even more under the dirt,” said Kennard Taylor, a 20-year-old Black college student at Jackson College.  Taylor lost his job as a server in the campus cafeteria in the first 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 poll shows that about half of Americans say they have experienced at least one form of household income loss during the pandemic, including 25 percent who have experienced a household layoff and 31 percent who say someone in the household was scheduled for fewer hours. Overall, 44 percent said their household experienced income loss from the pandemic that is still having an impact on their finances.

The poll results are consistent with recent economic data.  Roughly 745,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits the week of February 22nd, according to the United States Department of Labor, and roughly 18 million Americans remain on the unemployment rolls.

Thirty percent of Americans say their current household income is lower than it was when the pandemic began, while 16 percent say it is higher and 53 percent say there’s been no change.  About half of those who experienced any form of household income loss during the pandemic say their current household income is lower than it was.