A pair of studies released in recent days show how the worst of the economic woes have hit lower-income and minority Americans.
According to Pew Research, 46% of lower-income Americans have trouble paying bills since March. The data also indicated that 51 % of lower income Americans have had more difficulty saving money since the start of the pandemic.
For those considered “upper income,” just 21% say were saving less money than before the pandemic, compared to 25% of upper-income Americans who were able to save more, according to Pew.
Pew’s data also showed that minorities were much more likely to be financially impacted. The data showed that 11% of whites received assistance from a food pantry or food bank since March, compared to 33% of Blacks and 30% of Hispanics.
The data also showed that Blacks and Hispanics were two times more likely to have difficulty paying bills.
A study by Harvard released earlier this month showed similar data.
The data found that 71% of Americans with a household income of less than $30,000 faced financial difficulty amid the pandemic, compared to 20% of households making more than $100,000. The data also found that 72% of Latinos and 60% of Blacks faced financial burdens compared to 36% of whites.