Census: Relief Payments Staved Off Hardship In COVID Crash
FILE - In this June 29, 2021, file photo people ride their bikes past a homeless encampment set up along the boardwalk in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles. The share of Americans living in poverty rose slightly as the COVID pandemic shook the economy last year, but massive relief payments pumped out by Congress eased hardship for many, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday, Sept. 14. The official poverty measure showed an increase of 1 percentage point in 2020, indicating that 11.4% of Americans were living in poverty. It was the first increase in poverty after five consecutive annual declines. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The share of Americans living in poverty rose slightly as the COVID-19 pandemic shook the economy last year, but massive relief payments…



