In the fourth quarter of 2020 (when beef prices were strengthening) nearly 25% of US adults said they were worse off financially than a year earlier, reflecting the economic fallout and distress from the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Reserve Bank said in a release.
The report found a larger share of adults were worse off in 2020 than in previous years, but despite the increase, most believed they were at least doing “okay.” Seventy-five percent of adults were either doing okay or living comfortably in November, unchanged from 2019.
DIFFERING EFFECTS
However, not all groups fared similarly through the pandemic, and persistent well-being disparities across education levels and race remained.
Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree were more likely to report doing at least okay financially (89%) than those with less than a high school degree (45%). In 2020, fewer than two-thirds of Black and Hispanic adults were doing at least okay financially, compared with 80% of White adults and 84% of Asian adults.
People who retained their jobs during the pandemic generally had stable or improving finances in 2020 but those who suffered a layoff and an extended period of unemployment saw a deterioration of their financial circumstances. Layoffs during the pandemic were concentrated among workers with fewer financial resources, which further exacerbated pre-existing disparities in their financial well-being.
Those who were laid off during the pandemic typically had a relatively small financial cushion to begin with, as fewer than two-thirds of them said they were doing at least okay financially in late 2019, before experiencing job loss.
KIDS WERE A PROBLEM
The survey confirmed that the ability of parents to work was affected by disruptions in childcare and schooling. Twenty-two percent of all parents were either not working (9%) or were working less (13%) because of such disruptions.
The 9% who were not working translates into nearly two percentage points fewer adults who were working overall. The unexpected pandemic-related need for childcare particularly affected mothers, preventing them from entering or fully participating in the labor force, with Black, Hispanic and single mothers, as well as mothers with low incomes, affected the most.
Students of all ages also were affected since widespread school closures began in March 2020, and parents viewed online education less favorably than in-person education. Only 22% of parents of K-12 students taking online classes thought their youngest child was learning as much as they were with in-person classes, whereas 59% said they were not.
Among college students taking classes online, 34% thought they were learning as much as they would in person, compared with 43% who did not.
CATTLE, BEEF RECAP
Fed cattle traded this week at $119 to $120 per cwt on a live basis, up $1 to down $2 from last week. Dressed-basis trading was at $189 to $191 per cwt, steady to down $1.50.
The USDA choice cutout Thursday was up $0.80 per cwt at $324.18, while select was up $1.92 at $301.61. The choice/select spread narrowed to $22.57 from $23.69 with 51 loads of fabricated product and 19 loads of trimmings and grinds sold into the spot market.
The USDA reported Thursday that basis bids for corn from livestock feeding operations in the Southern Plains were not available but Friday were at $1.05 to $1.19 a bushel. The Jul CBOT futures contract settled Thursday at $6.64 1/2 a bushel, up $0.06 1/4.
The CME Feeder Cattle Index for the seven days ended Wednesday was $133.86 per cwt up $0.06. This compares with Thursday’s May contract settlement of $135.75 per cwt, down $0.82 and Aug’s $151.07, down $1.80.