美国联邦储备委员会称，随着新冠疫情开始对美国经济产生影响，近40%的美国低收入者失去了工作。

Nearly 40% of lower-income Americans lost work as the coronavirus pandemic began its assault on the US economy, according to the Federal Reserve.

 

One in 5 adults who were working in February reported being laid off or furloughed in March or early April, according to a Fed report published Thursday.

 

However, the economic downturn disproportionately affected¹ lower-income Americans.

 

Thirty-nine percent of people with a household income below $40,000 lost work over that period, according to the report, an annual survey of US household finances.

 

Conversely, that was true for just 19% of Americans with a household income between $40,000 and $100,000, according to a Fed spokesperson.

 

For those with an income exceeding $100,000, the disparity was even greater: Only 13% lost work.

 

This data doesn’t capture the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs since early April.

 

More than 36 million Americans have applied² for unemployment benefits over the past two months.

 

The unemployment rate soared to 14.7% in April, according to the Bureau of Labor³ Statistics. That’s the highest level since the Great Depression, when the unemployment rate is estimated to have exceeded 20%.

 

The leisure and hospitality industry, which pays the lowest average hourly wage compared with other industries, has experienced the most layoffs⁴ compared with other sectors⁵ of the economy, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

 

Employment loss has substantially impacted the financial well-being⁶ of families, according to the Fed.

 

Among those who lost a job or had their hours reduced, 70% reported an income decline, impacting their ability to pay bills.

 

Only 64% of those with a job loss or reduction in hours expected to be able to pay their bills in full in April, compared with 85% of those without an employment disruption, according to the Fed.

 

 

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