March 30, 2023 update: Added 2023-Q1 data.   Click to hide

COVID-19

Factor Income During the Pandemic

Factor income (defined as labor income from work and capital income from ownership) fell significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. This fall was much more dramatic for those in the Bottom 50% than for other income groups. However, as shown in the graph below, factor income recovered quickly for every group. All income figures are adjusted for price inflation.

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Y-axis

Real Income Growth

Factor income type

Factor Income

Population

Adults (age 20+)

Data frequency

Monthly

Real Factor Income Growth for Adults (age 20+)

Top 10%

Middle 40%

Bottom 50%

Total

Factor income growth per adult

From Jan 2019 to Mar 2022
Group
Growth (%)
Gain ($)
Mutually Exclusive Groups (Click to expand)
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Disposable Income During the Pandemic

Thanks to government transfers to help with COVID losses (including checks to families, extra unemployment benefits, the Paycheck Protection Program, etc.), disposable income (defined as income after taxes and cash transfers) increased by a sizable amount, especially for the Bottom 50%.

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Y-axis

Real Income Growth

Disposable income type

Disposable Income

Population

Adults (age 20+)

Data frequency

Monthly

Real Disposable Income Growth for Adults (age 20+)

Top 10%

Middle 40%

Bottom 50%

Total

Disposable income growth per adult

From Jan 2019 to Mar 2022
Group
Growth (%)
Gain ($)
Mutually Exclusive Groups (Click to expand)
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Wealth During the Pandemic

After a very short dip in early 2020, wealth per adult (defined as the value of all assets owned minus debts) boomed during the pandemic. As shown in the graph below, this wealth growth was higher for the rich than for the middle class.

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Y-axis

Real Wealth Growth

Wealth type

Wealth

Population

Adults (age 20+)

Data frequency

Monthly

Real Wealth Growth for Adults (age 20+)

Top 0.01%

Top 0.1%

Top 1%

Top 10%

Middle 40%

Wealth growth per adult

From Jan 2019 to Mar 2022
Group
Growth (%)
Gain ($)
Mutually Exclusive Groups (Click to expand)
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