US poverty rose to 11.7% from June to November - an increase of 7.8M people
A recent study showed a surge in poverty rates within the five-month period after unemployment benefits expired
Adding to the spike are the millions of jobs lost since the start of the pandemic, during which more than 86 million people filed claims for unemployment
The pressure for a COVID relief package has intensified as pandemic-related payments and protections will expire at the end of the year
Nearly 8 million Americans have fallen into poverty since the summer greenwichtime.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from greenwichtime.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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.