COVID-19 Pandemic Pinches Finances of America’s Lower- and Middle-Income Families
Nearly one-in-five middle-income families report receiving unemployment benefits in 2020.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Nearly one-in-five middle-income families report receiving unemployment benefits in 2020.
Amid rising inequality, many Americans feel that the U.S. economic system is unfair and generally favors powerful special interests.
17% of the global population could be considered middle income in 2020. Most people were either low income (51%) or poor (10%).
The global middle class consisted of 54 million fewer people in 2020 than the number projected prior to the onset of the pandemic.
The course of the pandemic in India and China will have a substantial effect on changes in the distribution of income at the global level.
The American middle class is smaller than middle classes across Western Europe, but its income is higher.
In the U.S., the racial and ethnic wealth gap has evolved differently for families at different income levels since the Great Recession.
The fortunes of the middle classes across Western Europe are moving in different directions. Some nations are experiencing both growing incomes and expanding middle classes, while other nations are witness to stagnant or declining incomes and shrinking middle classes, a new Pew Research Center analysis of 11 Western European countries has found. But in a few other countries studied, the middle-class shares are decreasing even as incomes overall are rising.
From 1991 to 2010, the middle class expands in France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, but, as in the United States, shrinks in Germany, Italy and Spain
As part of a new study, Pew Research Center designed income calculators to help you determine where you fit on the income ladder in Western Europe.
1615 L St. NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036
USA
(+1) 202-419-4300 | Main
(+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax
(+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries
ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
© 2024 Pew Research Center