Americans’ overall increased ability to save during the pandemic, paired with stimulus and relief actions taken by lawmakers through legislation like the CARES Act, actually helped the country’s overall poverty rates. The average poverty rate fell from 10.9% in January and February to 9.4% in April, May and June, according to an academic study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
The report’s authors, Jeehoon Han, Bruce D. Meyer, and LEO's James X. Sullivan, credit the government’s enhanced unemployment benefits and stimulus payments for the decrease, arguing that poverty would have risen 2.5 percentage points without these actions.
But now that there does not appear to be any additional stimulus on the horizon, there’s going to be stress on people’s finances.