15% of Americans say they’re worse off a year into pandemic

Lower-income workers have struggled the most, survey finds

While most Americans have weathered the pandemic financially, about 38 million say they are worse off now than before the outbreak began in the U.S.

Overall, 55 percent of Americans say their financial circumstances are about the same now as a year ago, and 30 percent say their finances have improved, according to a new poll from Impact Genome and The Associated PRESS-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. But 15 percent say they are worse off.

The problem is more pronounced at lower income levels: 29 percent of Americans living below the federal poverty line say their personal finances worsened in the past year. Roughly that many also find themselves in a deepening financial hole, saying they struggled to pay bills in the past three months.

Britney Frick, 27, is among those whose finances have taken a hit. She worked as a substitute teacher before the pandemic but her role was eliminated. Initially, she found a telecommunications job that allowed her to work from home, but the hours began to dwindle, then dried up altogether.

Frick ended up unemployed for six months but was able to get by using savings, reduced rent and help from her parents. “I am slowly getting back on my feet but am nowhere near where I was before COVID,“she said.

Frick got a job at a day care in March, and the steady work is helping her rebuild her financial picture. “I am still living paycheck to paycheck, but at least the paycheck is covering the bills,“she said. “But I am happy to be back at work, honestly, and happy that things are kind of returning to normal.”

The pandemic has wreaked havoc on the economy — the United States still has 8.4 million fewer jobs than it had in February 2020, just before the pandemic struck. The government has passed three major relief bills in response, which included direct economic relief payments to individuals. That has helped ease the suffering of some.

The latest round of government payments — $1,400 to individuals —— were sent out beginning last month. Households,

on average, are using or plan to use about one-third of the money to pay down debt, about 25 percent on spending and put the rest into savings, according to a report released last week from the New York Federal Reserve. That closely mirrored spending of prior relief payments.

Overall, the Impact Genome/ AP-NORC poll found 52 percent of Americans say they were able to save money for most of the past three months, while 37 percent broke even and 10 percent were short on paying bills. Among Americans living below the poverty line, 29 percent say they struggled to pay bills recently, while just 16 percent have saved. By comparison, 61 percent of those living far above the poverty line say they have been able to save. The federal poverty line for a family of four in 2019, prior to the pandemic, was $25,750.

There also are wide racial disparities, with 57 percent of white Americans, 47 percent of Hispanics and just 39 percent of Black Americans saying they have saved recently. Black and Hispanic Americans are about twice as likely as white Americans to say they have come up short on bill payments.