The U.S. poverty rate rose by nearly 2 percent over the summer, with about 7 million more Americans falling below the line, according to new research from the University of Chicago, the University of Notre Dame and Zhejiang University in China.
The expiration of government assistance programs likely contributed to the increase, which rose to 11.3 percent in September and October, from 9.4 percent from April to June, according to the study, which analyzed income level data from monthly U.S. census surveys.
“There are groups that are going to continue to pay a steep price as a result of the pandemic, and I think it does call for some intervention,” said LEO's James Sullivan, a study co-author and Gilbert F. Schaefer College professor of economics at the University of Notre Dame.