Absolutely incredible: Census says poverty rate **fell** in 2020 ***during one of the worst labor market shocks in US history***, due to the combo of stimulus checks/federal relief that reached millions both in and outside the workforce. Reflects limits of jobs to reduce poverty.
3. The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) extends the official poverty measure to include the value of noncash benefits, stimulus payments, taxes, and other necessary expenses. The SPM rate in 2020 was 9.1 percent. This was 2.6 percentage points lower than 2019.