Grim Findings from the Household Pulse Survey

Now that the election is over, let's hope the nation's attention returns to the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic on American lives and livelihoods. Attention is required. The latest Weekly Pulse Newsletter from the Census Bureau lays it out in grim detail. Here, verbatim, is how things stood at the end of October...

• 24.1% of American adults expect someone in their household to experience a loss in employment income in the next 4 weeks
• 36.9% of adults live in households where at least one adult substituted some or all in-person work for telework because of the coronavirus pandemic
• 10.9% of American adults lived in households where there was either sometimes or often not enough to eat in the previous 7 days
• 7.0% of adults are either not current on their rent or mortgage payment or have slight or no confidence in making their next payment on time
• Of adults living in households not current on rent or mortgage, 28.4% report eviction or foreclosure in the next two months is either somewhat or very likely
• 33.1% of adults live in households where it has been somewhat or very difficult to pay usual household expenses during the coronavirus pandemic
• 82.5% of adults in households with post-secondary educational plans had those plans cancelled or changed significantly this fall

These findings come from the Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey, which is measuring the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on American households. Phase 1 of the survey assessed households every week from April 23 through July 21. That was supposed to be the end of it, but the pandemic had other plans. So on August 19 the Census Bureau began Phase 2 of the survey, collecting data every two weeks...until November 4. Meanwhile, the pandemic rages on. 

Source: Census Bureau, Household Pulse Survey, October 14-26