A Tale of Two Pandemic$
A post-COVID world is finally coming into view, but we can already tell that America’s pandemic recovery is deeply unequal. It’s not hard to figure out who’s coming out ahead and who’s getting left behind. So we created five infographics that offer insights on the last 12 months and help us understand where we’ve been and we’re we’re going.
You can’t look at any data from 2020 without starting with cases of COVID-19—it’s the context for everything this year. Over 28 million Americans have been infected with COVID-19, and more than a half a million have died. (Over two million have died worldwide.) In the U.S., data shows that there’s been a stark racial divide, too—Americans of color are bearing the brunt of the virus at every stage.
feb 20
mar 20
apr 20
may 20
june 20
july 20
aug 20
Sept 20
oct 20
nov 20
dec 20
jan 21
Jan 20
9.56B
6.9B
11.08B
17.07B
23.91B
25.25B
29.24B
25.6B
27.97B
26.7B
60.44B
41.34B
68.52B
9.08b
7.49B
7.49B
8.92B
11.95b
16.64B
19.65B
22.13B
28.96B
32.24B
34.04B
44.38B
42.75B
21.27B
29.27B
41.12B
38.12B
50.63B
71.52B
72.2B
92.47B
28.96B
32.24B
34.04B
44.38B
42.75B
10.57B
11.88B
15.05B
17.36B
17.84B
17.95B
21.08B
24.83B
22.62B
25.41B
32.01B
37.09B
42.02B
5.78B
6.82B
4.55B
7.69B
9.61B
12.66B
14.1B
15.16B
15.28B
15.33B
20.26B
22.43B
25.1B
24.45B
16.81B
6.74B
9.79B
10.86B
10.53B
10.46B
14.78B
13.9B
12.66B
17.68B
17.73B
15.43B
12.56B
10.23B
6.92B
8.37B
6.92B
7.3B
6.6B
6.85B
6.45B
5.88B
7.44B
7.14B
7.6B
179.23B
155.22B
84.15B
79.58B
82.31B
103.46B
89.18B
96.96B
93.29B
81.51B
118.95B
124.65B
113.21B
11.49B
8.12B
5.15B
5.08B
4.44B
6.65B
5.66B
6.64B
6.25B
5.74B
8.63B
9.8B
10.67B
252K
1
100K
Daily new covid cases
TAKING STOCK: MARKET WINNERS & LOSERS
The stock market took an apocalyptic dive in mid-March. For reference, it took the Dow Jones Industrial Average almost a year and a half to drop 7,000 points during 2008’s Great Recession; It took a month for the Dow to drop over 10,000 points in March! But then something surprising happened: within a few months, most of the market had recovered—and then some. A strong stock market doesn’t benefit every American equally, since only those with surplus money to invest reap the benefits. 2019 data from the Federal Reserve shows that the top 10 percent of the wealthiest Americans controlled about 84 percent of all of Wall Street portfolios’ value.
HELP WANTED
Since the unemployment rate skyrocketed to 14.8 percent in April (an all-time high), it hasn’t yet fully recovered. And once again, the marginalized are feeling it the most. Although the employment rate of high-wage workers (making more than $60,000 per year) has improved since the beginning of 2020, low-wage employment (under $27,000 per year) has declined by over 20 percent. The rates have been relatively static since the summer, so there are no signs of improvement in this trend.
02/20
-30%
-40%
-20%
-10%
0%
10%
03/20
04/20
05/20
06/20
07/20
08/20
09/20
10/20
11/20
12/20
Percentage change in employment
HIgh wages ($60K+)
Medium wages ($27K-$60K)
Low wages (<$27K)
THE RENT: STILL TOO DAMN HIGH
median rent increase in 2020
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia estimated that, as a result of pandemic-related job losses, 1.3 million renter households would accrue $7.2 billion in unpaid rent by the end of 2020. And while you’d think rents would drop as individuals became less financially secure, the opposite has occurred. A report from Zumper shows that rents spent much of 2020 increasing. President Biden extended the eviction moratorium until March 31, but as it currently stands, billions of dollars in rent payments will soon come due.
1-bedroom
2-bedroom
02/20
01/20
0%
1.5%
2%
1%
0.5%
-0.5%
2.5%
03/20
04/20
05/20
06/20
07/20
08/20
09/20
10/20
11/20
12/20
01/21
THE GROWING GAP
Since March 2020, the wealth gap has grown even wider. Shareholders in tech companies experienced tremendous returns and the founders of these companies benefited even more. In 2020, America’s 614 billionaires grew their net worth by a collective $931 billion, according to USA Today. Meanwhile 42% of American adults reported that their level of financial security was the same or worse than last year. So the American recovery effort is well underway—at least for some, including a select few for which there wasn’t much to recover from to begin with. But for most, recovery hasn’t even begun. In fact, things will likely get worse before they get better.
42%
of American adults said their level of financial security was the same or worse since the pandemic began.
$913B
Over a roughly seven-month period starting in mid-March – a week after President Donald Trump declared a national emergency – America’s 614 billionaires grew their net worth by a collective
1.3 million renter households would accrue
$7.2B in unpaid rent
by the end of 2020.
200K
Five Ways to Look at COVID’s Boom/Bust Effect
A Tale of Two Pandemic$
Five Ways to Look at COVID’s Boom/Bust Effect
A post-COVID world is finally coming into view, but we can already tell that America’s pandemic recovery is deeply unequal. It’s not hard to figure out who’s coming out ahead and who’s getting left behind. So we created five infographics that offer insights on the last 12 months and help us understand where we’ve been and we’re we’re going.
You can’t look at any data from 2020 without starting with cases of COVID-19—it’s the context for everything this year. Over 28 million Americans have been infected with COVID-19, and more than a half a million have died. (Over two million have died worldwide.) In the U.S., data shows that there’s been a stark racial divide, too—Americans of color are bearing the brunt of the virus at every stage.
6.9B
9.56B
11.08B
17.07B
23.91B
25.25B
29.24B
25.6B
27.97B
26.7B
60.44B
41.34B
68.52B
9.08b
7.49B
7.49B
8.92B
11.95b
16.64B
19.65B
22.13B
28.96B
32.24B
34.04B
44.38B
42.75B
21.27B
29.27B
41.12B
38.12B
50.63B
71.52B
72.2B
92.47B
28.96B
32.24B
34.04B
44.38B
42.75B
5.78B
6.82B
4.55B
7.69B
9.61B
12.66B
14.1B
15.16B
15.28B
15.33B
20.26B
22.43B
25.1B
10.57B
11.88B
15.05B
17.36B
17.84B
17.95B
21.08B
24.83B
22.62B
25.41B
32.01B
37.09B
42.02B
24.45B
16.81B
6.74B
9.79B
10.86B
10.53B
10.46B
14.78B
13.9B
12.66B
17.68B
17.73B
15.43B
12.56B
10.23B
6.92B
8.37B
6.92B
7.3B
6.6B
6.85B
6.45B
5.88B
7.44B
7.14B
7.6B
179.23B
155.22B
84.15B
79.58B
82.31B
103.46B
89.18B
96.96B
93.29B
81.51B
118.95B
124.65B
113.21B
11.49B
8.12B
5.15B
5.08B
4.44B
6.65B
5.66B
6.64B
6.25B
5.74B
8.63B
9.8B
10.67B
252K
200K
1
100K
252K
200K
1
100K
feb 20
Jan 20
mar 20
apr 20
may 20
june 20
july 20
aug 20
Sept 20
oct 20
nov 20
dec 20
jan 21
Market caps VS daily new covid cases
Daily new covid cases
TAKING STOCK: MARKET WINNERS & LOSERS
The stock market took an apocalyptic dive in mid-March. For reference, it took the Dow Jones Industrial Average almost a year and a half to drop 7,000 points during 2008’s Great Recession; It took a month for the Dow to drop over 10,000 points in March! But then something surprising happened: within a few months, most of the market had recovered—and then some. A strong stock market doesn’t benefit every American equally, since only those with surplus money to invest reap the benefits. 2019 data from the Federal Reserve shows that the top 10 percent of the wealthiest Americans controlled about 84 percent of all of Wall Street portfolios’ value.
HELP WANTED
Percentage change in employment
Since the unemployment rate skyrocketed to 14.8 percent in April (an all-time high), it hasn’t yet fully recovered. And once again, the marginalized are feeling it the most. Although the employment rate of high-wage workers (making more than $60,000 per year) has improved since the beginning of 2020, low-wage employment (under $27,000 per year) has declined by over 20 percent. The rates have been relatively static since the summer, so there are no signs of improvement in this trend.
02/20
-30%
-40%
-20%
-10%
0%
10%
03/20
04/20
05/20
06/20
07/20
08/20
09/20
10/20
11/20
12/20
HIgh wages ($60K+)
Medium wages ($27K-$60K)
Low wages (<$27K)
THE RENT: STILL TOO DAMN HIGH
median rent increase in 2020
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia estimated that, as a result of pandemic-related job losses, 1.3 million renter households would accrue $7.2 billion in unpaid rent by the end of 2020. And while you’d think rents would drop as individuals became less financially secure, the opposite has occurred. A report from Zumper shows that rents spent much of 2020 increasing. President Biden extended the eviction moratorium until March 31, but as it currently stands, billions of dollars in rent payments will soon come due.
02/20
01/20
0%
1.5%
2%
1%
0.5%
-0.5%
2.5%
03/20
04/20
05/20
06/20
07/20
08/20
09/20
10/20
11/20
12/20
01/21
1-bedroom
2-bedroom
THE GROWING GAP
Since March 2020, an already-wide wealth gap grew even wider. Shareholders in tech companies experienced tremendous returns, as we saw earlier, and the founders of these companies benefited even more. In 2020, America’s 614 billionaires grew their net worth by a collective $931 billion, according to USA Today. However, at the same time, 42% of American adults reported that their level of financial security was either the same or worse than last year. So the American recovery effort is complete for some—including a select few for which there was never a need to recover in the first place. But for many, recovery hasn’t even begun. In fact, they’re still descending deeper into peril.
42%
of American adults said their level of financial security was the same or worse since the pandemic began.
Over a roughly seven-month period starting in mid-March – a week after President Donald Trump declared a national emergency – America’s 614 billionaires grew their net worth by a collective
$913B
1.3 million renter households would accrue
by the end of 2020.
$7.2B in unpaid rent
Request demo now
Chat with us
Want to create interactive experiences like this?
tweet
share
Share
tweet
share
Share
Get more fresh interactive stories delivered to your inbox weekly.
Get stunning visual
stories every week.
tweet
share
Share
tweet
share
Share
Market caps VS daily new covid cases
(via Country Financial Security Index)
(via USA Today)
(via Federal Reserve of Philadelphia)
“Although the distribution of income is unequal in the United States, ownership of financial assets in general and stocks in particular is even more so.”
— New York Times reporter Robert Gebeloff
“Recessions often hit poorer households harder, but this one is doing so at a scale that is the worst in generations.”
— Analysis in The Washington Post
“The tidal wave is coming. It’s going to be really horrible for people. The number of people who are now 90 days behind and the dollars they are behind are growing quite significantly.”
— Charlie Harak, senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center