Though initial shutdowns caused unemployment to surge to levels not seen since the Great Depression, trillions of dollars in government stimulus and the economy’s swift, if turbulent, recovery helped many families reach a new level of financial security, the Wall Street Journal reported. The first two rounds of stimulus payments lifted 11.7 million people out of poverty, according to the Census Bureau. Americans built up $2.7 trillion in extra savings. Some expect that, combined with rising wages, to provide them with lasting stability despite the return to more normal spending patterns and rising inflation. Not everyone benefited equally, and some say the future already looks more tenuous. The federal government’s stimulus checks, expanded unemployment insurance and monthly child tax credit have ended, and the pause on payments and interest on student loans will end soon. The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is driving up infections and disrupting businesses. But Americans of all income levels socked away more money during the pandemic, according to Moody’s Analytics estimates based in part on government data.
