By Cherranda Smith
Dec 16, 2020
The study conducted by economists at the University of Chicago and University of Notre Dame points to the one-time stimulus payment, rise in new COVID-19 cases, and July 31 expiration of additional unemployment assistance.
In the month of November, the national poverty rate increased from June’s 9.3% to 11.7%.
Researchers in the study say that without the $2.2 trillion CARES Act relief package passed in March, poverty rates would’ve been worse by now.
“The entire decline in poverty through June can be accounted for by the one-time stimulus checks the federal government issued, predominately in April and May, and the expansion of unemployment insurance eligibility and benefits. In fact, in absence of these programs, poverty would have risen sharply,”
Nearly eight million Americans have fallen into poverty since the summer
While overall poverty levels are low by historical standards, the increase in poverty this year has been swift. It is the biggest jump in a single year since the government began tracking poverty 60 years ago. It is nearly double the next-largest rise, which occurred in 1979-1980 during the oil crisis, according to James X. Sullivan, a professor at Notre Dame, and Bruce D. Meyer, a professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy.
Sullivan and Meyer created a Covid-19 Income and Poverty Dashboard to track how many Americans are falling below the poverty line during this deep recession. The federal poverty line is $26,200 for a family of four.
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