The Life of The Unemployed Americans

Michael Lewis

In the midst of uncertainties, even the Fed checks are bound to a big change, and not every unemployed American previously gaining advantage from these checks is happy, with the implementation CARES Act fast approaching.

On 6th July, we surveyed 1059 unemployed Americans to ask about their lives after the expiration of the  unemployment insurance. Let’s see what we found.

Our respondents

Survey Results

Unemployed Workers' Finance After The Stimulus Checks Expire

0 %
of the unemployed Americans believe their finance would be

At Very High Risk

Weekly Earnings of Those Who Think They Are At High Risk

$ 0
40% of unemployed Americans who are worried about the expiration can not earn more than $300 a week
Under $300
40%
$300-$500
23.3%
$500-$700
20.4%
$700-$900
9.4%
Above $900
6.8%

Top Financial Concern After The Stimulus Checks Expired

A large percentage of the respondents said their expenses went to household bills, including electricity, water, and Internet bills. A small amount of their weekly budget was allocated for child care.

Household bills
58.5%
Rent and Mortgage
50.4%
Groceries and Household supplies
48%
Healthcare and Hospitalization
16.4%
Education
13%
Childcare
12.3%

Main Reasons That The Unemployed Are Asking For The Extension

0 %
said they needed the money to afford the living cost
0 %
were afraid that they couldn't find a job as new cases were surging
I need the money to afford the basic living costs
39.1%
I am concerned about my well-being when being put to work, as new cases are surging
32.7%
I am having an unexpected issue and would not need the money to cover it
15%
I have lost the ability to work
5.1%
I am in big debts
3.3%
Other
4.8%

How The End of the Stimulus Checks Affect The Unemployed Americans' Lives?

Fifty-nine percent of Americans were saying they struggled to make ends meet after the $600 checks ended on July 31st. The expiration decreased the purchasing power of the economy, since these unemployed Americans had been spending their allowances in both basic necessities and needs.

0 %
struggled to make ends meet
0 %
would have big debts
0 %
lost the motivation to find a job
0 %
had suicidal intentions

Methodology

On 6 July, we surveyed 1059 unemployed Americans to ask about their concern for the expiration of the $600 Fed unemployement insurance. The survey was launched on MTurk with the target location set to the U.S. We chose the Aprroval Rate above 95% to ensure the quality of the survey results. Within the survey questions, we also used the qualifying question to exclude the answer from those who are not unemployed Americans.

As the survey is based on self-reporting, please expect small telescoping and exaggeration. However, the data is reported transparently and we commit to being responsible for the authentication of the survey results.

Fair Use Statement

Feel free to share and use the data for your non-commercial purpose. However, we do ask for a credit if you are going to use our work.

Please link back to this article so that people can view the full version of the survey.