Actual Poverty Impacts of COVID

The following is a brief overview of the cost of restrictions in the United States and around the world, including stay-at-home orders, closings of businesses and schools, restrictions on gatherings, and interventions in the freedom of movement.

1 Economy

In the United States, between March 25 and April

10, 31% of U.S. adults said their families couldn't

afford rent, mortgage, or utility payments, were

food insecure, or went without medical

treatment due to cost.1 52% of those aged 18 to

29 are living with their parents as of July 2020

(47% in February), a record number of available Q2 2020 GDP decreased at an annual rate of

32.9%, and Q1 2020 GDP decreased at an annual

rate of 5%. 3 Between March 25 and April 10,

41.5% of non-elderly adults reported having lost

jobs, reduced work hours, or less income

because of COVID. 4

In Africa and Asia, from March 2020, there was a

significant decline in employment and income in

middle and low-income countries. Households

2 Income

Globally, about 97 million more people are living on less than $1.90 a day because of the pandemic, increasing the global poverty rate from 7.8% to 9.1%. Between 2019 and 2021, the average income of the bottom 40% fell by 2.2%, while the average income of the top 40% fell by 0.5%. 6 Poverty rates have risen in many regions, but they're especially high in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. According to World Bank high-frequency phone surveys, 81% of Peruvian families and 85% of Senegalese households experienced income losses in the early months of the crisis. 7

3 Unemployment

The wages of workers worldwide were also adversely affected. Their wages were reduced by a large percentage and allowances were canceled. 8 This was a big blow, forcing them to either adapt to low incomes or resign. Consequently, some ran out of food; which eventually affected their livelihoods. In the United States, unemployment rate increased to 14.7% in April 2020. This is the highest rate of increase (10.3%) and largest month over month increase in history of available data (since 1948). 9 In March, 39% of people living with a household income of $40,000 and below reported a job loss. 10 The unemployment rate between February and April increased by 12% for women and 10% for men. 11 Mothers of children aged 12 and younger lost 2.2 million jobs between February and August (12% drop), while fathers of small children lost 870,000 jobs (4% drop). 12 In the Asian continent, most people suffered heavily, especially the migrant workers. Their jobs and contracts were called off, and they had limited means of transporting themselves. For instance, most of them got stuck in railway stations and bus stations. Moreover, lack of food was also a problem, and this weakened their already compromised health. Most Asian migrant workers live in poor conditions; they work on low wages and can only afford food to sustain themselves. They were the first to experience the harshness of the lockdowns, as well as the joblessness during the COVID. Most of these Asian migrants starved and lost the minimal amounts of savings they had during the lockdown.

4 Hunger

Globally, hunger caused by the pandemic is responsible for the deaths of 10,000 children. 13 Approximately 20 million more children (67 million total) will suffer from wasting (weakening of the body from emaciation) in the first 12 months of the pandemic. 14 Number of undernourished individuals may increase from 690 to 822 million people.15 In the United States, the rate of food insecurity from 2018 to mid-2020 has more than doubled (14% to 32%) for households with children. 16 Between 9% and 14% of parents report their children did not have enough to eat because they could not afford food. 17 In March alone, food banks gave out 20% more food than in an average month. 18 In Asia, the number of child deaths in six Asian countries is expected to have increased by 228,641 in 2020. 19 In Nigeria, COVID-19-induced disruptions of school feeding services increased households’ experiences of food insecurity, increasing the probability of skipping a meal by 9 percentage points…and the likelihood of going without eating for a whole day by 3 percentage points. 20

5 Education

The education sector was also affected, as schools were closed down and people could only learn online which would eventually negate efforts and goals to end illiteracy. Although some schools offered free mid-day meals prior to COVID, but could not be offered anymore on lockdown owing to COVID. Learners were only expected to learn online; however, some students could not access or afford the internet services and

gadgets to join the class. The poor learners were the most disadvantaged during COVID, as they were being deprived of their rights to education, and were unable to study with others. 21 About 24 million children worldwide may drop out of school next year as a result of the lockdown’s economic impact. 22

In the United States, a decrease in life expectancy by 5.53 million years of life is found to occur for American children due to the closing of American primary schools. 23 30,806 internships were lost (a decrease of 52%) between March 9 and April 13. 24 Between March 9 and April 13 travel & tourism internships fell 92%; IT dropped 76%, architecture & engineering 65% and telecommunications 65%. Accounting & legal internships fell the least, dropping 22%. 25 Preschool participation sharply fell from 71% pre-pandemic to 54% during pandemic; the decline was steeper for young children in poverty. 26

6 Crime

In the United States, assault and other violent crimes rose by 4.6% in the first half of 2020, while murder and non-negligent manslaughter charges surged by 14.8% in the same period. 27 The number of property crimes went down by 7.8%, but thefts of cars went up by 6.2%. 28 Arson surged 19.2% in the first six months of 2020 compared to the same period last year, and 52.1% in cities with populations of one million or more. 29 Between June and August 2020 homicides increased 53% and aggravated assaults increased 14% compared to the same period in 2019. 30 In the United Kingdom, a 25% increase in calls made to helpline since the start of lockdowns . 31

1 Karpman, M., Zuckerman, S., Gonzalez, D., and Kenney, G. M., (2020) The COVID-19 Pandemic Is Straining Families’ Abilities to Afford Basic Needs, Low-Income and Hispanic Families the Hardest Hit, Available from: https://www.urban.org/research/publication/covid-19-pandemic-straining-families-abilities-afford-basic-needs [Accessed 6 May 2022].

2 Fry, R., Passel, J., and Cohn, D. (2020) A majority of young adults in the U.S. live with their parents for the first time since the Great Depression, Pew Research Centre. Available from: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/09/04/a-majority-of-young-adults-in-the-u-s-live-with-their-parents-for-the-first-time-since-the-great-depression/ [Accessed 7 May 2022].

3 BEA (2020) Gross Domestic Product, 2nd Quarter 2020 (Advance Estimate) and Annual Update. Available from: https://www.bea.gov/news/2020/gross-domestic-product-2nd-quarter-2020-advance-estimate-and-annual-update [Accessed 7 May 2022].

5 Egger, D. et al. (2021) Falling living standards during the COVID-19 crisis: Quantitative evidence from nine developing countries. Science Advances, 7(6). Available from: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abe0997 [Accessed 6 May 2022].

6 World Bank (2022) Global Economic Prospect, A World Bank Group Flagship Report. Available from: https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/global-economic-prospects#overview [Accessed 2 May 2022].

8 OECD (2020) Job retention schemes during the COVID-19 lockdown and beyond. Available from: https://oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/job-retention-schemes-during-the-covid-19-lockdown-and-beyond-0853ba1d/ [Accessed 9 May 2022].

9 BLS (2020) TED: The Economics Daily. Available from: https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2020/unemployment-rate-rises-to-record-high-14-point-7-percent-in-april-2020.htm?view_full [Accessed 7 May 2022].

10 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (2020) Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2019, Featuring Supplemental Data from April 2020. Available from: https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/2019-report-economic-well-being-us-households-202005.pdf [Accessed 7 May 2022].

11 BLS (nd) Graphics for Economic News Releases. Available from: https://www.bls.gov/charts/employment-situation/civilian-unemployment-rate.htm [Accessed 7 May 2022].

12 Henderson, T. (2020) Mothers are 3 times more likely than fathers to have lost jobs in pandemic, PEW Research Centre. Available from: https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2020/09/28/mothers-are-3-times-more-likely-than-fathers-to-have-lost-jobs-in-pandemic [Accessed 7 May 2022].

13 Fore, H. H., Dongyu, Q., Beasley, D. M., and Ghebreyesus, T. A. (2020) Child malnutrition and covid-19: the time to act is now. The Lancet, 396 (10250). Available from: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2820%2931648-2/fulltext [Accessed 9 May 2022].

15 World Health Organization (2020) Impact of covid-19 on people’s livelihoods, their health and our food systems. Available from: https://www.who.int/news/item/13-10-2020-impact-of-covid-19-on-people's-livelihoods-their-health-and-our-food-systems [Accessed 7 May 2022].

16 Bauer, L., Broady, K., Edelberg, W., and O’Donnell, J. (2020) Ten facts about covid-19 and the U.S. economy, Brookings. Available from: https://www.brookings.edu/research/ten-facts-about-covid-19-and-the-u-s-economy/#:~:text=The%20COVID

%2D19%20crisis%20also,(U.S.%20Census%20Bureau%202020a) [Accessed 7 May 2022].

17 Keith-Jennings, B. (2020) Food need very high compared to pre-pandemic levels, making relief imperative, CBPP. Available from: https://www.cbpp.org/blog/food-need-very-high-compared-to-pre-pandemic-levels-making-relief-imperative [Accessed 7 May 2022].

18 Morello, P. (2021) The food bank response to covid, by the numbers, Feeding America. Available from: https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-blog/food-bank-response-covid-numbers [Accessed 7 May 2022].

19 UNICEF (2021) Direct and indirect effects of the covid-19 pandemic and response in South Asia. Available from: https://www.unicef.org/rosa/media/13066/file/Main%20Report.pdf [Accessed 7 May 2022].

20 Abay, K. A., Amare, M., Tiberti, L., and Andam, K. S. (2021) Covid-19-induced disruptions of school feeding services exacerbate food insecurity in Nigeria. The Journal of Nutrition, 151(8), 2245-2254. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351900499_COVID-19-Induced_Disruptions_of_School_Feeding_Services_Exacerbate_Food_Insecurity_in_Nigeria [Accessed 5

21 Chotiner, I. (2020) How COVID-19 Will Hit India, New Yorker. Available from: https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-covid-19-will-hit-india [Accessed 5 May 2022].

22 United Nation (2020) UN/DESA Policy Brief #86: The long-term impact of COVID-19 on poverty, UNDESA. Available from: https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/un-desa-policy-brief-86-the-long-term-impact-of-covid-19-on-poverty [Accessed 7 May 2022].

23 Christakis, D. A., Van Cleve, W., and Zimmerman, F. J. (2020) Estimation of US children’s educational attainment and years of life lost associated with primary school closures during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, JAMA Network. Available from: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2772834/ [Accessed 7 May 2022].