Research Suggests , the Pandemic has Accelerated , the Decline of the
American Middle Class.
According to 'U.S. News & World Report,' Pew Research
Center data suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic impacted
lower- and middle-income households the hardest.
Meanwhile, another Pew report
shows that America's middle class
has shrunk in the past 50 years. .
The Pew reports suggest that the economic
fallout of the pandemic has only accelerated, the decline of the U.S. middle class.
In 1971, , 61% of U.S. households , were considered middle class.
By 2021, that number plummeted 50%. .
At the same time, the percentage of Americans in the upper-income level rose from 14% to 21%.
Over the same period, , those in the lower-income bracket , rose from 25% to 29%. .
Household incomes have risen considerably
since 1970, but those of middle-class
households have not climbed nearly as much
as those of upper-income households, Rakesh Kochbar and Stella Sechopoulos, Pew Research
Center report authors, via 'U.S. News and World Report'.
The middle class, once the economic stratum of a clear majority of American adults, has steadily contracted in the past five decades, Rakesh Kochbar and Stella Sechopoulos, Pew Research
Center report authors, via 'U.S. News and World Report'.
According to Pew's COVID-19 study, 15% of adults experienced some form of unemployment in 2020.
Comparatively, 28.2% of lower-income adults experienced unemployment, while only 7.8% of upper-income workers suffered the same fate. .
Pew considers lower-income households as those
earning under $52,000 annually, while upper-income
households make over $156,000 a year