Chart showing unemployment benefits were a key source of income for lower- and middle-income households receiving them in 2020 | Pew Research Center

April 15, 2022

COVID-19 Pandemic Pinches Finances of America’s Lower- and Middle-Income Families

Chart showing unemployment benefits were a key source of income for lower- and middle-income households receiving them in 2020

Chart showing unemployment benefits were a key source of income for lower- and middle-income households receiving them in 2020

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Chart showing unemployment benefits were a key source of income for lower- and middle-income households receiving them in 2020

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COVID-19 Pandemic Pinches Finances of America’s Lower- and Middle-Income Families
Chart showing finances of lower- and middle-income families took a hit in the pandemic
Chart showing about three-in-ten lower-income adults had an unemployment spell in 2020
Chart showing who is “middle income” and “upper income”?
Chart showing the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to strong gains in income from 2010 to 2019 for households in all income tiers
Chart showing unemployment spells in the COVID-19 pandemic were as common as in the Great Recession
Chart showing unemployment benefits were more widespread during the pandemic than the Great Recession
Chart showing unemployment benefits were a key source of income for lower- and middle-income households receiving them in 2020
Chart showing about one-in-three middle-class adults moved to another income tier from 2020 to 2021, as did similar shares from lower- and upper-income tiers
Chart showing shares of adults staying in their income tier from year-to-year have changed little since 2000
Chart showing share of adults in the middle class has not changed since the Great Recession