The proportion of U.S. citizens living in poverty rose slightly when the COVID-19 pandemic shook the economy last year, but massive aid payments approved by Congress alleviated the difficulties of many, he said. reported this Tuesday the Census Bureau.
Poverty increased by one percentage point in 2020, to affect the 11.4% of the population. This is the first increase after five years of falls.
According to these data, about 37.2 million people fell below the poverty line last year, an increase of 3.3 million from 2019. This threshold is set from an income of less than $ 26,200 a year for a family of four.
Average household income dropped to $ 67,500 last year, 2.9% less than in 2019, which was the highest since 1967, the first year records were made. This is the first statistically significant decline in average income since 2011.
Also, the number of those working full time all year fell by approximately 13.7 million people, the largest year-on-year decline since the Census began collecting comparable data in 1967.
However, a more comprehensive supplementary indicator of poverty, which takes into account income streams such as stimulus payments, actually showed that the proportion of people in poverty decreased after aid. According to Census data, this down from 11.8% in 2019 to 9.1% in 2020.
On the other hand, the proportion of households that suffer food insecurity remained at 10.5%, As in the previous year, the equivalent of 13.8 million households. Although this proportion increased in families with children: it went from 13.6% in 2019 to 14.8%.
The closure caused by the pandemic shook the economy last year. Only in April, more than 20 million workers lost their jobs. Unemployment offices paid a weekly average of 20 million applications last year.
The economy has recovered since then, but employment remains the same five million jobs below pre-pandemic levels.
Congress passed five bills last year in response to COVID-19, totaling about $ 3.5 trillion, which were signed by then-President Donald Trump.
This year, Democrats approved President Joe Biden’s nearly $ 1.9 trillion US Rescue Plan, with votes from both parties. Its effects are not yet reflected in the Census report.
The Census report provides relevant evidence for the current debate over Biden’s $ 3.5 trillion social infrastructure plan, said public policy analyst Robert Greenstein of the Brookings Institution tink tank.
“For cynics who believe that nothing the government is doing effectively, particularly in terms of poverty, it will be more difficult to maintain that view,” said Greenstein, who founded the Center for Budget and Political Priorities. a non-profit organization that advocates for low-income people.
Biden’s economic plan expands tax credits for families with children, which is seen as a strategy to reduce child poverty and its long-term consequences.
With information from The Associated Press, NBC News and CNN.