According to a newly released poll from the Pew Research Center, 43 percent of American adults say their household has suffered a job loss or a cut in pay since the start of the coronavirus crisis, marking a 10-point increase from a month ago.
Among lower-income adults (with annual incomes less than roughly $37,500), an even higher share (52 percent) say they or someone in their household has experienced this type of job upheaval.
Latinx Americans are particularly hard hit, with 61 percent of them saying their households have suffered financial losses because of the crisis, in comparison to 44 percent of black adults and 38 percent of whites.
In addition to being the hardest hit by the economic fallout from COVID-19, lower-income adults are less prepared to withstand a financial shock than those with higher incomes. Only about one-in-four (23 percent) say they have “rainy day” funds set aside that would cover their expenses for three months in case of an emergency—such as job loss, sickness, or an economic downturn—compared with 48 percent of middle-income and 75 percent of upper-income adults.