The report, which focused on poverty and income, showed that, by one measure, poverty actually decreased last year amid the pandemic’s economic downturn. Besides the stimulus payments, unemployment benefits, which were greatly enhanced in response to the pandemic, had a big impact, preventing 5.5 million people from falling into poverty. That’s according to the Census’s supplemental poverty measure, which took into account the stimulus payments and taxes, which are left out of the so-called official poverty rate calculated by the government.The stimulus checks reached a broad range of households, with an estimated 85.5% receiving the first round, according to a Census survey from June 2020. “This really shows the importance of the social safety net,” said Liana Fox, branch chief of the poverty statistics branch of the Census Bureau, in a press conference Tuesday. Indeed, while the official poverty rate rose from 10.5% to 11.4% in 2020, the more detailed supplemental poverty rate fell from 11.8% to 9.1%—the first time since the SPM was created in 2009 that it was lower than the official rate. The Census report was based on data from an annual survey of more than 75,000 households. Have a question, comment, or story to share? You can reach Diccon at dhyatt@thebalance.com.
