Catching Up and Coping in the COVID Economy — Safety Net Program Expansions, American Voices Project

Summary

Journal article titled Catching Up and Coping in the COVID Economy. Its abstract says the authors assess the utility of the American Voices Project in supplementing more traditional sources of labor market data, exploring the effects of safety net program expansions on household financial stability and labor force participation during the COVID-19 pandemic. It reports that employment loss was sometimes associated with declines in financial well-being despite the expanded safety net, and that the authors find little evidence of the programs disincentivizing work. The keywords are American Voices Project, pandemic labor market, unemployment insurance benefits, mental well-being, gig work.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Issuer: Source documents

Cite this document

“Catching Up and Coping in the COVID Economy — Safety Net Program Expansions, American Voices Project.” Original at doi.org. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/catching-up-and-coping-in-the-covid-economy/, SHA-256 01f05aba7d873a446ac6ab1d3f480ac682e70e8956668109944c0da2ddbcdbea.

Full text

Catching Up and Coping in the
COVID Economy
K y le Fee, Sl oa n e K a iser, a n d K ei t h Wa r dr ip

In this article, we assess the utility of the American Voices Project in supplementing more traditional sources
of labor market data. To do so, we explore the effects of safety net program expansions on household finan-
cial stability and labor force participation during the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that despite the ex-
panded safety net, employment loss was sometimes associated with declines in financial well-being. We find
little evidence of the programs disincentivizing work, however. Pandemic relief programs helped cover es-
sential living expenses, but implementation challenges muted their effects for some. Connections between
employment loss and declines in mental well-being, as well as both the vulnerability and importance of gig
work, emerged as prominent, if unexpected, themes. Our analysis suggests that, with improvements, an on-
going, large-scale qualitative data collection effort could be an invaluable asset in monitoring labor market
conditions in low-income communities.

Keywords: American Voices Project, pandemic labor market, unemployment insurance benefits,
mental well-being, gig work

The first known case of COVID-19 reached on a series of efforts to mitigate the economic
American shores in January 2020 (Centers for harm to workers and the households they sup-
Disease Control and Prevention 2022), and by ported as the country entered recession.
mid-March, the disease had set in motion both The economic impacts of the COVID-19 re-
a public health epidemic and an economic re- cession and subsequent policy responses to
cession. Many of those who were spared from mitigate those impacts fed competing narra-
the worst effects of the former were subjected tives about how expanded safety net programs
to the widespread impacts of the latter. In the impacted the financial stability and labor mar-
weeks and months following the onset of the ket decisions of low-income households. Arti-
pandemic, the federal government embarked cles and editorials in the popular press debated

Kyle Fee is policy advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, United States. Sloane Kaiser is community
engagement associate at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, United States. Keith Wardrip is senior com-
munity development research manager and advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, United States.

© 2024 Russell Sage Foundation. Fee, Kyle, Sloane Kaiser, and Keith Wardrip. 2024. “Catching Up and Coping
in the COVID Economy.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 10(4): 34–59. https://
doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2024.10.4.02. We thank Dr. Rosemary Frasso at Thomas Jefferson University for her meth-
odological guidance. The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the
views of the Federal Reserve Banks of Cleveland or Philadelphia or the Federal Reserve System. Direct corre-
spondence to: Kyle Fee, at kyle.d.fee@clev.frb.org, 1455 East 6th Street, Cleveland, OH 44114, United States.

Open Access Policy: RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences is an open access journal.
This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported Li-
cense.
catching up a nd coping in the cov id econom y 35

whether expanded unemployment benefits re- affected the employment or job-search behav-
duced worker participation in the labor force iors of beneficiaries?
(Mulligan and Moore 2020; Iacurci 2021), or The AVP interviews in our sample offer a nu-
whether the missing workers were absent due anced understanding of how low-income
to other COVID-related factors, such as fear of households were experiencing and responding
disease, school closures, or retirements to pandemic-induced economic shocks. Con-
(Chaney Cambon and Dougherty 2021). The sistent with prior research, we find that for
perception that unemployment benefits were many low-income households, the pandemic
keeping workers on the sidelines of the labor and recession led to a loss of employment that
market were among the reasons that roughly took many forms, from a slight reduction in
half of the states ended certain benefits prior hours to a permanent layoff. However, the
to their federal expiration (Whittaker and depth and prevalence of related financial hard-
Isaacs 2021). Simultaneously, research and pub- ships described in the interviews challenge the
lic opinion, although not necessarily contradic- broader notion of households on firm financial
tory, were not always aligned on these topics footing, propped up by pandemic relief pro-
and at times conveyed varying levels of impact; grams and disincentivized to return to work.
as an example, Economic Impact Payments Instead, interviewees’ experiences with acute
(EIPs) and the refundable child tax credit lifted financial difficulties during the pandemic were
more than fourteen million people out of pov- more aligned with quantitative research high-
erty in 2021 (Creamer et al. 2022), but the major- lighting the financial distress that persisted de-
ity of recipients responding to one survey be- spite these programs. Some interviewees de-
lieved the funds helped them only “a little” scribed how pandemic relief funds, when
(Marist Institute for Public Opinion 2021). delivered, and gig work activities, when not dis-
With these competing narratives as back- rupted by the pandemic, were paramount to
drop, we aimed to assess the potential of the covering essential living expenses. Interviewees
American Voices Project (AVP) as an instrument also highlighted the important connections be-
for collecting policy-relevant labor market in- tween mental well-being and financial stability
formation that could supplement conventional as they described heightened levels of stress,
survey and administrative data. As a first-of-its- worry, and anxiety about making ends meet
kind data collection effort involving immersive during the pandemic.
interviews with more than two thousand We view our analysis as a test-drive of sorts
households across the United States, we won- for how a data set such as the AVP could be
dered whether the AVP as designed and exe- used to contribute to policy-relevant research
cuted could deliver the breadth and depth of in the future. When we compare our findings
qualitative data necessary to enrich, validate, with the literature, we consider none to be
or challenge conclusions reached with quanti- wholly novel. That is, research preceding ours
tative data while providing additional nuance and reviewed in this article also finds evidence
around the complex decisions income- of household-level financial distress and the
constrained households made during this pe- problematic deployment of unemployment
riod. To assess the AVP’s ability to do so, we benefits during the pandemic, for example.
leverage seventy-six interviews conducted be- However, the alignment between our findings
tween the fall of 2020 and the summer of 2021, and prior, mostly quantitative, work does not
focusing on low-income households most render AVP data redundant or superfluous. In-
likely to be in the labor force and benefit from stead, it is a testament to its validity. This arti-
pandemic relief programs. We structured our cle also deepens our understanding of the pan-
exploration of the AVP data set around these demic economy at the household level, giving
policy-relevant research questions: How did in- robust insight into experiences that might oth-
terviewees experiencing negative employment erwise be masked by averages and aggregate
effects describe the role that safety net pro- statistics. We conclude that with some im-
grams played in stabilizing household fi- provements a generic, immersive-interviewing
nances? Is there evidence that these programs platform such as the AVP could serve as a valu-

r sf: t he russell sage f ou n dat ion jou r na l of t he so ci a l sciences
36 building a n open qua li tat i v e science

able complement to the existing and emerging creased, although at year end, they would
quantitative infrastructure in monitoring eco- remain above and below pre-pandemic levels,
nomic conditions in low-income communities. respectively.2

B ac kg r o u n d The Federal Safety Net
The COVID-19 pandemic was an unprece- Acting quickly to support dislocated workers,
dented shock to the U.S. economy. the federal government created and enhanced
a number of programs to blunt the economic
Employment Disruption for effects of the pandemic and associated reces-
Low-Income Households sion, including a major expansion of the unem-
Over two months in the spring of 2020, non- ployment insurance (UI) system. Passed in
farm payroll employment declined by almost March 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and
22 million jobs, roughly 17.million workers be- Economic Security (CARES) Act and subse-
came unemployed, and the unemployment quent legislation modified the UI system along
rate increased from 3.5 percent to 14.8 percent.1 three dimensions to amplify its generosity and
Employment losses were concentrated in in- reach: benefit levels were increased; eligibility
dustries that relied on face-to-face interaction was expanded; and duration was extended. Be-
and services and, due in part to their higher tween April and July 2020, UI claimants re-
representation in susceptible industries, His- ceived a supplement of $600 in addition to their
panic and Black, younger, and lower-income regular benefits through the Federal Pandemic
workers, as well as workers with less formal ed- Unemployment Compensation program; the
ucation, were more likely than others to experi- supplement expired and in January 2021 was
ence job loss (FRB 2021; Despard et al. 2020; replaced by a $300 top-up. Further, through the
Karpman et al. 2020; Wardrip 2021; Cortes and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)
Forsythe 2021; Horowitz, Brown, and Minkin program, eligibility was extended to those not
2021; Bartik et al. 2020; Bell et al. 2020), which generally covered by the UI system, including
took the form of reduced hours, the elimina- self-employed workers, gig and contract work-
tion of a position, and the loss of self- ers, and those with a limited work history. Fi-
employment (FRB 2020; FRB 2021; Horowitz, nally, the duration of benefits was extended
Brown, and Minkin 2021). through the Pandemic Emergency Unemploy-
The COVID-19 recession arrived quickly but ment Compensation program; with the excep-
lasted only two months, March through April tion of the five-month lapse and subsequent
of 2020 (NBER 2023). The early recovery was reduction of the supplement, these programs
characterized by the recall of workers from extended benefits through early September
temporary layoff and a subsequent rapid re- 2021 (BEA 2021). However, roughly half of the
bound in overall employment levels (Wolcott states terminated their participation in one or
et al. 2020; Forsythe et al. 2020). The economic all of these programs in June or July 2021 for
disruption proved to be longer lasting for numerous reasons, including concern that pro-
some, however, given that only about half of the grams were keeping potential workers out of
adults laid off because of the pandemic had re- the labor force and in light of the growing num-
turned or expected to return to their former job ber of job openings (Whittaker and Isaacs
as of late 2020 (FRB 2021) and certain groups of 2021).
workers (such as low-wage workers, Black work- The $600 supplement available to UI recipi-
ers) were less likely to regain employment than ents in mid-2020 was designed to replace the
others (Cortes and Forsythe 2021; Bartik et al. earnings of the average worker (Bartik et al.
2020). The broader economic recovery contin- 2020), but because pandemic job losses were
ued into 2021 as unemployment steadily de- concentrated in low-wage industries, the “re-
clined and payroll employment gradually in- placement rate” (share of prior earnings re-

1. Authors’ analysis of data from BLS (n.d.-a, n.d.-b, n.d.-c).

2. Authors’ analysis of data from BLS (n.d.-a, n.d.-b).

r sf: t he russell sage f ou n dat ion jou r na l of t he so ci a l sciences
catching up a nd coping in the cov id econom y 37

placed by benefits) for many UI recipients ex- or months (DOL 2021). The rollout of the PUA
ceeded 100 percent. In fact, workers with the program was notably problematic. Most states
lowest wages were eligible for benefits that took more than thirty days to implement the
would have doubled their prior earnings, and program (DOL 2021), payments were subject to
the median replacement rate was estimated to long delays (Greig et al. 2021), and some states
be 145 percent (Ganong et al. 2020). A survey initially paid recipients the minimum allow-
conducted in July 2020 suggests that among able benefit in order to expedite payments,
low-income households that received UI ben- with the expectation that recipients would be
efits, the vast majority reported that their in- made whole retroactively (GAO 2020b).
come was higher than (56 percent) or about the Compounding their administrative and op-
same as (27 percent) their pre-layoff earnings erational challenges, the UI programs did not
(FRB 2020). The expiration of the $600 supple- provide relief equitably, cushioning the loss of
ment in the summer of 2020 lowered the me- earnings for some groups of workers more than
dian replacement rate below 50 percent until for others. UI receipt varied dramatically—but
the smaller $300 supplement was implemented not randomly—by state, as pandemic-era ac-
in January 2021, raising the replacement rate cess to benefits was associated with the states’
again above 100 percent for the lowest-earning UI policies and pre-pandemic coverage levels
half of dislocated workers (Cortes and Forsythe (Bell et al. 2021; Carey et al. 2021; Forsythe and
2021). Yang 2021). Among those who applied for UI
The apparent generosity of expanded and benefits through the end of 2020, Black and
enhanced UI benefits must be considered Hispanic workers, younger workers, workers
alongside the ability of those experiencing job from lower-income households, and workers
loss to access them. An analysis of Department with less formal education were less likely to
of Labor data shows that only 28 percent of un- receive them (Carey et al. 2021). The lower re-
employed workers received regular UI benefits cipiency rate for PUA-eligible individuals also
in 2019; at least in part due to the longer dura- likely disproportionately affected low-wage
tion of benefits permitted during the pan- workers (Forsythe 2023).
demic, this share rose to 78 percent in 2020, In addition to UI benefits that directly tar-
even before factoring in the PUA program that geted workers displaced by the pandemic, the
expanded eligibility (Ganong et al. 2022). A sim- federal government also approved more
ulation combining publicly available data to es- broadly targeted direct cash transfers. Between
timate individual eligibility with administrative March 2020 and March 2021, Congress ap-
data on actual payments suggests that the vast proved three rounds of EIPs ranging from
majority of those eligible for UI benefits re- $1,200 to $2,800 for each married couple and
ceived them, although the recipiency rate for from $500 to $1,400 for each dependent child.
the PUA program (76 percent) appears to have Payments began phasing out for couples with
been lower than for standard UI (98 percent) an adjusted gross income of more than
(Forsythe 2023). Survey data tell a less optimis- $150,000. Married parents earning less than
tic story. Self-reported receipt of UI benefits $150,000 and supporting two children would
among seemingly eligible workers was a much have been eligible for a total of $11,400 (Trea-
lower 36 percent, although benefit receipt in sury n.d.). Relative to the UI programs, the dis-
survey data is known to be underestimated bursement of EIPs went smoothly, relying as it
(Forsythe and Yang 2021). Among those who ap- did on information contained in previously
plied for UI benefits between March and De- filed federal tax returns. However, an assess-
cember 2020, roughly three-quarters (77 per- ment of the first round of EIPs found that
cent) reported being successful (Carey et al. nearly nine million eligible individuals had not
2021), but even successful applicants may have received their funds several months after dis-
experienced delays in the delivery of their ben- bursement began, many because their low level
efits (Bitler et al. 2020) because some state UI of income did not require them to file a tax re-
offices were suffering from well-documented turn. The assessment also uncovered issues re-
backlogs in processing claims stretching weeks lated to underpayment as well as problems

r sf: t he russell sage f ou n dat ion jou r na l of t he so ci a l sciences
38 building a n open qua li tat i v e science

with the distribution of prepaid debit cards for Horowitz, Brown, and Minkin 2021). In addi-
recipients with no bank account information tion to helping cover typical expenses, the re-
on file (GAO 2020a). A survey conducted in May ceipt of both EIPs and UI benefits led to spend-
2020 indicated that, relative to higher-income ing increases for low-income households
and White respondents, individuals living be- (Chetty et al. 2020; Chetty, Friedman, and
low the poverty line and Black and Hispanic Stepner 2021; Greig, Deadman, and Noel 2021).
individuals were less likely to receive the initial Account balances declined more quickly for un-
EIP (Holtzblatt and Karpman 2020). Additional employed, younger, and lower-income account
analyses of bank account and survey data sug- holders than for their counterparts, however
gest that individuals with lower balances and (Farrell et al. 2020; Greig, Deadman, and Noel
lower incomes were less likely to receive an EIP 2021). A study using checking account data
than those with greater resources (Ratcliffe et shows that the lowest-income account holders
al. 2023). had the highest percent increase in account
balances (65 percent) in December 2021 relative
Mixed Signals on Household to 2019 levels, but given their low starting
Financial Stability points, this amounted to an increase of only
In the aggregate, the UI and EIP programs kept around $500 (Greig, Deadman, and Sonthalia
millions out of poverty, particularly in the early 2022).
months of the pandemic (Han, Meyer, and Sul- Given the dramatic level of job loss and the
livan 2020; Parolin et al. 2020), and the UI pro- temporary and episodic nature of the UI pro-
gram alone lowered the official count of the im- grams and EIP disbursement, to say nothing of
poverished by 4.7 million in 2020 (Chen and the noted challenges with their administration,
Shrider 2021). Both safety net programs contin- improvements in aggregate measures of well-
ued to lift millions above the poverty threshold being mask a fair amount of heterogeneity. In
into 2021 (Creamer et al. 2022), a year in which spite of the safety net programs, those who lost
self-reported financial well-being reached its employment were much more likely than those
highest level in a national survey begun in 2013 who had not been laid off to struggle covering
(FRB 2022). Further, those making less than their expenses (FRB 2021; Holzer, Hubbard, and
$30,000 annually saw a two percentage-point Strain 2021; Despard et al. 2020; Dua et al. 2021),
improvement in their financial health between with higher levels of financial distress observed
2020 and 2021 (Dunn et al. 2021). There is a vast both for those with lower levels of education
body of evidence suggesting that those who re- and for Black and Hispanic adults (Dunn et al.
ceived UI benefits had an economic advantage 2021; FRB 2021). Financial stressors included
over those who applied for but did not receive difficulty covering food costs, medical ex-
such benefits (FRB 2020; Carey et al. 2021; Dunn penses, and housing payments (Bitler et al.
et al. 2021); similar findings are associated with 2020; Dua et al. 2021; Despard et al. 2020; GAO
the receipt of EIPs (Dunn et al. 2021; Karpman 2020b; Karpman et al. 2020). Of note, according
and Acs 2020). to a survey administered in early 2021, even
Evidence is clear that both EIPs and UI ben- among those using UI benefits to cover spend-
efits provided needed financial support and ing needs, nearly one-third had a very difficult
promoted general economic security for those time meeting usual household expenses, and
who received them (Whittaker and Isaacs 2022), nearly one-quarter of those also receiving SNAP
with the benefits accruing to some types of benefits occasionally experienced food insecu-
households more than others. EIPs dispropor- rity (Mohanty 2021). A reliance on earnings
tionately supported the spending needs of rather than benefits was far from a guarantee
lower-income and unemployed households (Ar- of financial stability, given that about half of
mantier et al. 2021; Boutros 2020), as well as those who experienced a pay cut after February
those living paycheck to paycheck, those with 2020 reported earning less money in early 2021
lower account balances and liquid wealth, and than before the pandemic (Horowitz, Brown,
Black and Hispanic adults (Karger and Rajan and Minkin 2021).
2021; Baker et al. 2020; Parker et al. 2021, 2022; Low-income households facing economic

r sf: t he russell sage f ou n dat ion jou r na l of t he so ci a l sciences
catching up a nd coping in the cov id econom y 39

distress discussed a variety of coping strate- than the ending of the $300 supplement; this
gies, including increased indebtedness, a re- effect is characterized as being toward the
duction in spending, and the depletion of sav- lower end of what historical research on UI
ings (Mattingly et al. 2021; Karpman et al. 2020). would suggest (Coombs et al. 2022). Other stud-
Some adults who experienced income volatility ies using a traditional labor market survey also
turned to gig work, a strategy that may have find employment increases in states that ended
been only partially effective in smoothing earn- the $300 supplement early (Arbogast and Du-
ings during the pandemic (FRB 2021; Liu 2020), por 2023; Holzer, Hubbard, and Strain 2021).
but one that may have filled a desire to work With a few exceptions, the research generally
and, in some cases, to receive income more suggests that even though the expansion of UI
quickly than UI claims could be processed (Rav- benefits had measurable impacts on the pro-
enelle, Kowalski, and Janko 2021). pensity to seek work, the impacts were rela-
tively small (Ganong et al. 2022). The temporary
The Work Disincentives Debate nature of the pandemic-era supplements, the
As discussed, whether and the extent to which difficulty finding a job during a recession, and
workers opted out of the labor force in favor of the prevalence of workers being recalled after
enhanced UI benefits was a contested topic in a temporary layoff are offered as explanations
the popular press, and it received a substantial for the relatively small employment effects as-
amount of attention from the research commu- sociated with both supplements (Ganong et al.
nity. The evidence is mixed. 2023), alongside health risks during the pan-
Focusing on the effects of the $600 supple- demic and the closure of schools and daycares
ment, analyses of small business payroll data (Ganong et al. 2022).
suggest that differences in states’ replacement Workers themselves also shed light on the
rates had little to no effect on a worker’s likeli- degree to which UI benefits and EIP receipt af-
hood of remaining unemployed or returning to fected their decision to rejoin or remain in the
work (Bartik et al. 2020; Finamor and Scott labor force. In nationwide focus groups, non-
2021). Likewise, states’ relative replacement college workers generally suggested that sup-
rates were not found to be associated with job port from these programs did not allow them
growth after the supplement ended (Dube to stop seeking employment altogether but, in
2021). Although one study suggests that the some cases, gave them the flexibility to find
$600 supplement had a larger effect on job ap- better-paying work instead of accepting the
plication activity (Marinescu, Skandalis, and first offer (Miller et al. 2023). In a survey admin-
Zhao 2021), the effect on recipients’ job-finding istered to employees of small businesses in
rates seems to have been only small to moder- mid-2020, only 7 percent of those negatively af-
ate (Ganong et al. 2023; Petrosky-Nadeau and fected by COVID said they would not look for
Valletta 2023). work because it was not financially necessary
The decision made by some governors to to do so (Bartik et al. 2020). Another survey ex-
end the $300 supplement in mid-2021 prior to ploring the first round of EIPs found that the
its federal expiration provided another oppor- payments would not affect the labor force activ-
tunity to test whether enhanced UI benefits ity of the vast majority of respondents. Among
were affecting workers’ decision to participate unemployed respondents, more suggested they
in the labor force. When states announced would begin looking for a job or put more effort
their intention to end the benefit early, their into their existing search after receiving an EIP
share of national online job postings clicks in- than said an EIP would reduce their job-search
creased measurably but fleetingly (Kolko 2021). activity (Coibion, Gorodnichenko, and Weber
Comparing workers’ behavior in states that 2020). Finally, in response to a survey adminis-
withdrew with those in states that retained the tered in mid-2021, unemployed noncollege
supplement, an analysis of bank transaction workers who were not urgently searching for a
data finds a modest increase in the job-finding job suggested that the fear of contracting
rate of workers in the former but attributes the COVID was the primary reason for their lack of
finding to the exhaustion of UI benefits rather urgency. For these workers, the three most im-

r sf: t he russell sage f ou n dat ion jou r na l of t he so ci a l sciences
40 building a n open qua li tat i v e science

portant milestones that would encourage a re- Data
turn to work were the availability of more job In this analysis, we rely exclusively on AVP in-
opportunities, increased vaccinations, and UI terview transcripts. The AVP was a large-scale,
benefits or savings running out, in that order qualitative data collection effort involving a
(Bunker 2021). representative sample of American households
Existing research leaves no room for doubt and led by the Stanford Center on Poverty and
that lower-wage and noncollege workers bore Inequality. The interview protocol included
the brunt of the employment disruptions as- roughly two hundred questions spanning a
sociated with COVID-19 pandemic and reces- wide range of topics such as life history, family,
sion. Aggregate statistics indicate that the rela- daily routines, and health; detailed demo-
tively generous expansion of UI benefits and graphic information was collected for each
the distribution of EIPs fortified household bal- household member, as were data on living
ance sheets in the wake of this employment costs, income, and program participation, in-
shock, but there is also evidence that certain cluding the receipt of UI benefits. The inter-
groups faced unequal access to these resources views, which were conducted by current college
and persistent economic hardship. Comple- students or college graduates who received in-
menting more traditional sources of survey and tensive training in qualitative interviewing,
administrative data, the AVP offers a new lasted an average of 2.2 hours, and interviewees
source of in-depth information collected di- were compensated anywhere from $60 to $145
rectly from scores of low-income households for their time (Stanford Center on Poverty and
who shared their stories during this tumultu- Inequality 2021). In total, more than 2,700 in-
ous period. As a first-of-its-kind, large-scale terviews were conducted between July 2019 and
immersive-interviewing platform, we assess the August 2021, with those prior to the onset of the
utility of the AVP as a tool to monitor labor mar- COVID-19 pandemic conducted in person and
ket conditions during a crisis by exploring the remainder by phone. In March 2020, ques-
these households’ experiences in the labor tions exploring the impact of the pandemic
market, their efforts to balance a budget, their were added to the interview protocol, including
interactions with state UI offices, and their de- a question about the receipt of stimulus funds
cisions surrounding labor force participation. (that is, EIPs); additional questions about
crossroads and turning points that tended to
Data a n d M e t h o d s yield very rich responses were added in Septem-
This analysis follows as closely as possible the ber 2020. Interviews were recorded, and tran-
consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative scripts were deidentified before being made
research (Tong, Sainsbury, and Craig 2007). Our available for research purposes. Additional in-
three-person research team (two males, one fe- formation on the AVP data set can be found in
male) includes members of the Community De- the introduction to this issue (Edin et al. 2024).
velopment departments at the Federal Reserve
Banks of Cleveland and Philadelphia. Our team Approach
generally focuses on issues related to workforce We consider our approach to be aligned with
development and economic mobility for low- thematic analysis as described in Virginia
and moderate-income individuals. We are sea- Braun and Victoria Clarke (2006). Our research
soned research professionals but less experi- questions were motivated by an interest in bet-
enced with the type of full-scale qualitative ter understanding the COVID-19 pandemic and
research project undertaken in this analysis. associated federal relief programs on low-
Recognizing our inexperience, we sought out income households—and specifically, how
and benefited from the guidance and support these relief programs affected household finan-
of an experienced qualitative methodologist cial stability and labor force attachment. As is
throughout this project. Eight Federal Reserve customary with secondary analysis, we under-
Banks, including our own, were among a coali- went an inductive process to collect informa-
tion of AVP supporters, but the research team tion relevant to our research questions, remain-
was not connected to the production of data. ing flexible to allow the data to guide and refine

r sf: t he russell sage f ou n dat ion jou r na l of t he so ci a l sciences
catching up a nd coping in the cov id econom y 41

our focus (Hinds, Vogel, and Clarke-Steffen states represented in the second national sam-
1997; Chatfield 2020). Doing so allowed us to ple. These interviews were conducted during a
not only address our specific research ques- period when COVID-19 presented significant
tions but also provide important, if unex- health risks, and while the economy was im-
pected, context on the employment and finan- proving, the unemployment rate was still above
cial experiences of low-income households pre-pandemic levels (see figure 1).
during this period.
Analysis
Sample Selection We used an inductive process to develop our
We use the second national sample of AVP in- codebook as we became familiar with the infor-
terviews, conducted between September 2020 mation contained in the transcripts. As men-
and August 2021 because it included new ques- tioned, our initial reading of the transcripts al-
tions that yielded responses relevant to our in- lowed us to gain familiarity with content and
quiry. More than seven hundred interviews develop our codebook. We refined our initial
were completed as part of the second national codebook through an iterative process of dou-
sample, but only 490 had been transcribed at ble and triple coding more than twenty tran-
the time of our analysis. We limit our sample scripts, using NVivo (March 2020 version), a
to households with earnings below 200 percent qualitative software program to facilitate the
of the poverty level for the corresponding year, coding of passages, store results, and ensure
using Health and Human Services poverty coding consistency. During this process, we
guidelines for 2020 and 2021, adjusted for collectively discussed and settled discrepancies
household size. We further restrict the sample among coders, which helped us refine the defi-
to interviewees younger than fifty-five years old nitions of our codes. To ensure a common and
and exclude those who were disabled, retired, consistent understanding of the codebook
a seasonal worker, or a full-time student. We throughout the analysis, we double-coded ev-
use household earnings to select our sample ery fifth transcript and discussed and resolved
because research on the pandemic’s employ- any differences. After we finished coding the
ment effects shows that low-wage workers ab- transcripts, we independently summarized
sorbed the brunt of the job losses and received what we viewed as the major themes associated
the greatest boost to their income through the with each code and then met as a team to dis-
expanded safety net programs. The other exclu- cuss our interpretations and settle on what we
sions allow us to focus on those most likely to consider to be our primary findings. As part of
be in the labor force, which was critical to our this process, we used the demographic infor-
research questions. Seventy-six interviewees mation collected during the interviews to ex-
satisfied these criteria. plore whether any themes were more or less
Relative to the second national sample and prevalent across a variety of household charac-
largely a product of our selection criteria, teristics, including the number of adults and
households in our sample had much lower children present, the ratio of last year’s earn-
earnings in the last year, were considerably ings to the federal poverty guideline, residence
younger, had lower levels of educational attain- in an urban, suburban, or rural area, and the
ment, included more people per household, race and ethnicity, education, age, and country
and were more likely to be employed or in the of birth for adults in the household.3
labor force (see table 1). Our sample also has Figure 2 presents a visual oversimplification
broad geographic representation, including of our codebook and a preview of how we pres-
transcripts from twenty-one of the thirty-six ent our findings in the following section. It also

3. Because AVP interviews were intended to capture the experiences of all household members, using house-
hold—rather than interviewee—characteristics is more appropriate for identifying group differences. We devel-
oped separate categories for households with adults of different races or ethnicities or falling into different age
bins. We used the highest educational attainment of adult members to classify households by education, and
we classified any household with an adult born outside the United States as an immigrant household.

r sf: t he russell sage f ou n dat ion jou r na l of t he so ci a l sciences
42 building a n open qua li tat i v e science

Table 1. Interviewee Characteristics

Study Sample Second National Sample

Unweighted Weighted Unweighted Weighted

Gender
Female 58% 45% 59% 51%

Race-ethnicity
White alone, not Hispanic 50% 47% 53% 58%
Black alone, not Hispanic 25% 24% 22% 12%

Average age 31 34 47 48
Average household size 2.8 3.0 2.4 2.5
Average household earnings last year $20,634 $19,974 $36,978 $42,355

Employment status
Employed 71% 72% 48% 46%
Unemployed, looking for work 14% 15% 7% 7%
Not in labor forcea 14% 13% 38% 43%
Other-Unknown 0% 0% 6% 4%

Education
Less than high school diploma 17% 30% 8% 11%
High school diploma 32% 36% 21% 27%
Some college (including associate’s 37% 23% 29% 30%
degree)
Bachelor’s degree or higher, unknown 14% 11% 42% 31%

Neighborhood type
Urban 57% 39% 40% 27%
Suburban-rural 43% 61% 60% 73%

N 76 16% 490 100%

Source: Authors’ calculations using American Voices Project data.
Note: Categories representing ten or fewer interviewees are combined with other categories or ex-
cluded to protect confidentiality.
a
Includes interviewees classified as unemployed and not looking for work, retired, disabled, full-time
students, and seasonal workers. Among these groups, only the first is included in the study sample.

clearly depicts how our exploration of the tran- that gig work was both a direct casualty of the
scripts for information related specifically to pandemic and a common financial coping
household financial stability and the ways that strategy. For some interviewees, employment
pandemic relief programs might disincentivize loss and subsequent financial distress led to
work led to the discovery of our primary heightened levels of stress and anxiety, which
themes. Although the transcripts contained we refer to broadly as negative impacts on in-
virtually no information suggesting safety net terviewees’ mental well-being.4 Depending on
programs affected household members’ labor their implementation, pandemic relief pro-
force participation, they were rich in informa- grams played a role in lessening these hard-
tion on the connection between employment ships for some and compounding them for
loss and financial hardship. Further, we found others.
4. We are interested in aspects of financial and mental well-being that interviewees directly associated with
pandemic-related employment loss.

r sf: t he russell sage f ou n dat ion jou r na l of t he so ci a l sciences
catching up a nd coping in the cov id econom y 43

Figure 1. U.S. Economic and Public Health Context, 2020–2021

18 100,000

16 90,000

14 80,000
70,000
12
60,000
10
50,000
8
40,000
6
30,000
4 20,000
2 10,000

Ja0 0
Fe uan
br r y
u a 20
M r y 20
a r 20
ch 2
A p 20 0
r i 20
M 20 l
a y 20
Ju 20
ne 20
Ju 202
Se Aug ly 2 0
p t u s 02
em t 0
O b e 02
N t o r 20 0
c
ov b e 2
D e m r 20 0 2
ec be 2
em r 0
Ja be 02
n r 0
Fe ua 20
br r y 20 2
u a 20
M r y 21
a r 20
ch 2
A p 20 1
ri 21
M 20 l
ay 21
Ju 20
ne 21
Ju 202
A
Se ug ly 2 1
pt us 02
em t 1
O be 021
c
N t o r 20 2
ov b e 2
D e m r 20
ec be 2
em r 1
be 202
r2 1 1
021

Interviews in our sample (left axis)
Unemployment rate (%, left axis)
COVID-19 deaths (right axis)

Source: Authors’ calculations using American Voices Project data; BLS (n.d.-c); Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (n.d.).
Note: The bar on the left spans March and April of 2020 designating the recession. Weekly COVID
deaths aggregated to months using the month corresponding to the first day of the week.

Figure 2. Schema Illustrating Intersection of Findings
Themes Explored The labor market disruption wrought by the
COVID-19 pandemic has been well established,
Pandemic-related but interviewees’ accounts of this disruption
employment loss provide important context for our findings.
(N = 37) Given the economy-wide magnitude of job
losses and their concentration at the lower end
of the wage spectrum, it is perhaps unsurpris-
ing that we find evidence of pandemic-related
employment loss for a subsample of thirty-
seven of the seventy-six households (the sub-
Gig
+
Financial
–
Mental sample). Many of these interviewees, or those
activities well-being well-being in their household, experienced a permanent
layoff as a direct consequence of the COVID-19
recession, but reduced hours and temporary
layoffs of weeks or months were more com-
mon.5
It is within the job loss subsample that we
Pandemic relief
programs explore two primary themes emerging from our
(N = 76) analysis. We discuss the impact of employment
loss on the subsamples’ financial and mental
Source: Authors’ tabulation. well-being and then highlight the pandemic’s

5. We use permanent layoff to describe a permanent separation from the employer and temporary layoff to
describe a layoff from a job to which a worker expects to be recalled.

r sf: t he russell sage f ou n dat ion jou r na l of t he so ci a l sciences
44 building a n open qua li tat i v e science

effects on gig work that played a critical role in “Ouch in My Pocket”
stabilizing household finances. We neither Even though none of the households in our
searched for nor expected to find rich content sample earned more than twice the poverty
on mental well-being and gig work as we re- level in the prior year, the financial hardship
viewed interviewees’ discussions of employ- discussed by some interviewees seemed to
ment loss and subsequent financial stability, mark a turning point toward instability. Re-
but the importance of these issues was evident flecting on the swiftness of this transition, one
in the transcripts. Our final set of findings re- worker who was also a student said, “all of a
lated to UI benefits and EIPs draws on the full sudden, I don’t have my ducks in a row. And it’s
sample to capture the widespread receipt of not my fault.” Another remarked that as a result
EIPs across low-income households in our of the pandemic, their “income has changed
sample. tremendously” and they “barely make it.” The
In an effort to center the voices of those with health-care worker lamented that after paying
lived experiences, quotes from fifteen inter- the rent on time for many years, they had fallen
viewees residing in fourteen states and repre- behind on payments and may have no choice
senting diversity along such dimensions as but to move without paying what they owe, de-
self-identified race and ethnicity, gender, and spite renting from landlords they considered
age are used throughout this section to support to be good and patient. When asked to com-
and describe the themes we discuss. The age pare the last few months with the prior year, an
category of the interviewee, whether the house- interviewee who worked in the hospitality in-
hold’s earnings were below 100 percent or be- dustry said, “Like, it’s totally different from last
tween 100 and 199 percent of the federal pov- year. Last year, I was doing good. This time, the
erty guideline, the season and year of the hours are short. We’re not getting paid what we
interview, and general type of work are pro- were. So, it’s like been a big ouch in my pocket”
vided.6 [age 35 to 54, below 100 percent, fall 2020].
The apparent disconnect between the tem-
Financial and Mental Well-Being porary bouts of under- or unemployment de-
In spite of the short-term nature of the employ- scribed by most of this subsample and the level
ment disruption for many households and the of economic hardship described in the inter-
pandemic relief programs available during this views may reflect the small margin for error in
period, interviewees from more than half of the the financial conditions of households living
households in our subsample described finan- in or near poverty. The most common strategy
cial hardships or declining financial stability interviewees mentioned to make ends meet in-
as a direct consequence of their pandemic- volved taking on debt, frequently by borrowing
related employment loss. Interviewees dis- from family or friends but sometimes by using
cussed their difficulties making ends meet; fall- more formal lines of credit. Other strategies in-
ing behind on rent and utility payments was cluded reducing spending, negotiating with
commonly reported and, in some cases, accom- creditors, and prioritizing which bills to pay
panied by references to subsequent housing ahead of others. A few also described drawing
instability.7 In the words of one health-care down savings, but some households had little
worker who was out of work for months due to to no reservoir. When asked whether they
the pandemic: “When my rent’s short, I would would be able to cover an unexpected $400 ex-
pay the rent that I’m short on with the next pense, one construction worker replied,
check and then catch up. I didn’t catch up really
because I had other expenses like [inaudible]. No, I would not have the money. My bank ac-
I tried to catch up as much as I could” [age 35 count is at zero as of right now, so as far as
to 54, below 100 percent, winter 2021]. how would I get the money, I might have to

6. The information provided is purposefully limited to protect the identity of interviewees.

7. For more on housing insecurity as seen through the lens of AVP interviews, see Max Besbris and colleagues
(2024, this issue).

r sf: t he russell sage f ou n dat ion jou r na l of t he so ci a l sciences
catching up a nd coping in the cov id econom y 45

ask my mother for a couple of bucks, and their “wits’ end” as they contemplated a return
then maybe go out to one of my old bosses to criminal activities to stay afloat financially.
and try to get a loan or something like that. I Several interviewees alluded to deep-seated
don’t really have a lot of resources on extra concerns about the future and the uncertainty
funds. We’re living day to day. [age 18 to 34, surrounding their employment and financial
below 100 percent, fall 2020] situations. Echoing the point made about ris-
ing financial instability, the worker-student
“Bad Days” noted, “Because it’s like, you never know what
For some of the households in our subsample, the next month is going to be like, and I’ve
the consequences extended beyond a weakened never had that uncertainty, ever in my life.” De-
sense of financial well-being. During the course scribing their current financial situation, a for-
of their interviews, many also mentioned mer server said, “It scares me to death, that’s
heightened levels of stress, worry, and anxiety; how I feel, I can’t get a job, I can’t get any help,
we refer to these instances collectively as nega- and I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
tive effects on the mental well-being of inter- Work-related stressors evident among inter-
viewees or members of their household. viewees who lost employment were not limited
Roughly one-fourth of these thirty-seven inter- to the financial implications of this loss. Other
viewees discussed the impact of their employ- stressors, such as the fear of catching COVID-19
ment loss, or fear of such loss, on their mental in the workplace and being overworked, arose
well-being. Most associated declines in mental but were discussed infrequently. In some cases,
well-being with the financial hardships stem- however, interviewees shared experiences that
ming from their loss of employment, such as reflected the unique, cumulative effects of un-
the inability to pay rent or keep the lights on, dergoing financial strain during a pandemic,
but this laid-off worker’s response to a question as one employee working at a car wash stated:
about struggling with depression and anxiety “The pandemic has affected my mental health
suggests the loss of the job itself levied its own with my anxiety because, I mean, my checks
emotional toll: were cut up, so my bills were piling up, being
around people and thinking, you know, they
Yeah, I have bad days. I get depressed espe- might have it has made my anxiety skyrocket
cially, just not necessarily the lockdown, just to the point where I can’t be around other peo-
not having a full-time job, not being able to, ple or go to store or go to the restaurant, I don’t
I’m used to paying for everything in the house feel safe” [age 18 to 34, 100–199 percent, fall
and now, having to split a bill here and there 2020].
with pop, I don’t like that just because he Among the thirty-seven interviewees in the
raised me and I owe him. He doesn’t owe me, subsample, households with earnings below
so I mean, I get down on myself not a lot, but 100 percent of the federal poverty guideline and
a few days here and there, I feel depressed and those with a lower level of formal education (no
stuff like that. It’s not overwhelmingly de- more than a high school diploma) were more
pressed, but I know when it’s happening. I likely to discuss negative impacts on both their
know the days that I’m depressed. I can just financial and mental well-being than were their
feel it, but it’s really more because of the full- higher-income and more formally educated
time work thing than it is anything else. [age counterparts, respectively. These differences by
35 to 54, 100–199 percent, fall 2020] educational attainment may be explained by
the correlation in our sample between educa-
This quote is illustrative of the depth and tion and earnings.
acuity of most interviewees’ references to men-
tal well-being—a heightened sense of concern, Gig Work
stress, and anxiety but one that does not per- As stated previously and as illustrated by the
vade the interview. Others, however, conveyed experiences of the thirty-seven households in
a deeper level of distress. One interviewee who our subsample, pandemic-related employ-
worked in the auto industry described being at ment loss took many different forms, from a

r sf: t he russell sage f ou n dat ion jou r na l of t he so ci a l sciences
46 building a n open qua li tat i v e science

short-term reduction in hours to a permanent took a blow into our finances as well. [age 18
layoff. In some cases, the pandemic disrupted to 34, 100–199 percent, fall 2020]
the earnings from a traditional employee-
employer relationship (W-2 earnings), whereas “Got to Pay Bills”
in others, earnings from gig work, such as side Gig work was raised not only as a casualty of
jobs, freelance work, selling items of value, or the pandemic but also as an important finan-
temporary employment, were casualties of the cial coping strategy. For some interviewees, it
pandemic. was difficult to discern whether these efforts
predated the pandemic as part of an estab-
“Blow into Our Finances” lished system for making ends meet, but for
The loss of earnings from gig work was de- most, they were clearly a direct response to the
scribed by roughly one-fifth of the subsample. pandemic-related employment disruption. Il-
Interviewees discussed experiences ranging lustrating a hybrid case, one stay-at-home
from the loss of seasonal employment at an mother of two suggested that while finding a
amusement park to the need to curtail babysit- side job to make ends meet was not atypical,
ting “once COVID numbers started spiking up.” “it’s been more frequently having to make ends
A chef discussed the opportunity to do private, meet with the COVID and everything” because
in-home cooking demonstrations and the im- a household member had their hours reduced
pact of the pandemic on this nascent entrepre- at work. Among this group, very few references
neurial activity: were made to jobs in the platform economy,
such as food delivery or rideshare services (for
I do some stuff on the side here and there if an analysis of the app-based platform economy
people want — I had this one lady that [inau- using AVP data, see Jackson 2024, this issue);
dible] but she wants me to do like a personal instead, interviewees described more informal
like a private cooking show for her, and her efforts to offer services for hire in the commu-
immediate friends and family. To where I nity. One interviewee described their daily rou-
would show up at her house with my equip- tine as follows: “I wake up and I check my
ment stuff like that, and actually just cook for phone and emails and all that stuff to check for
them make something good for them let’s do a job. . . . Hopefully, I have jobs. If I have jobs,
a little dinner show. I can do stuff like that on then I plan my day according to them, but if
the side I don’t get it very often like [inaudi- there’s no work . . . then I got my own little
ble] one of my first few that I’ve done, but I’ve room back here and I fill out job applications,
never been able to get this one done yet, be- play [video games], find something construc-
cause it’s just this whole coronavirus thing tive to do” [age 35 to 54, 100–199 percent, fall
threw me off. [age 18 to 34, below 100 percent, 2020].
fall 2020] Other interviewees discussed selling goods
rather than services. Examples included masks,
For many of these interviewees, the loss of digital content for video games, and making
income from gig work was paired with—and snacks distributed via both farmers markets
compounded by—a reduction in earnings from and an online marketplace. Others discussed
their primary form of employment. In the selling personal belongings for whatever cash
words of one recent college graduate: they could generate after their hours were cut
at their primary job:
I did lose a lot of working hours. I worked 40
hours a week to maybe like 15 or 20. So I was I had to sell personal items that I didn’t want
still able to keep my job, which is great, and to sell, I had to sell things from my house that
then I also made a lot of money selling [cre- meant a lot to me, I had to sell other things
ative works] and when the pandemic hit, no that were worth a lot more money for less
one wanted to buy [creative works] because money just, because it’s like well I got to pay
nobody wanted to spend extra money on bills. . . . So we’ve lost a lot of things that we
something they couldn’t afford. And so that didn’t want to lose, but we’ve gotten through

r sf: t he russell sage f ou n dat ion jou r na l of t he so ci a l sciences
catching up a nd coping in the cov id econom y 47

and we’ve come on the other end of it we’re children, or compensation to another motorist
starting to do better now due to my new job. for an automobile accident. Others discussed
[age 18 to 34, below 100 percent, fall 2020] earmarking any surplus funds to cover future
expenses. Households with earnings below 100
The Role of Pandemic Relief Programs percent of the federal poverty guideline and
Shortly after the onset of the pandemic, an un- households whose adults self-identified as
precedented number of federal, state, and local Black were more likely than their counterparts
policies and programs were enacted to protect to discuss using pandemic relief funds to cover
the U.S. economy and stabilize the labor mar- essential living expenses. The latter observa-
ket, particularly for vulnerable households. Be- tion may be explained by the fact that Black
cause the AVP interview guide included direct households in the sample had lower average
questions about the receipt of UI benefits and earnings than households in the other race and
stimulus payments (EIPs), and given the level ethnicity categories.
of employment loss in our sample and wide- As might be expected in light of our focus
spread eligibility for EIPs, interviewees com- on low-income households, only a handful in
monly discussed these programs in particular.8 our sample suggested that they did not need
In this section, we use the full sample of the pandemic relief funds, spent them on dis-
seventy-six households to explore interviewees’ cretionary items, or described a stronger
use of these funds and views on program effec- household balance sheet as a result of their UI
tiveness. benefits or EIP receipt. One unemployed deliv-
ery worker mentioned how the “free money . . .
“It Did Help a Lot” helped us catch up on a lot of stuff” and ex-
Interviewees who elaborated on how UI bene- pressed optimism that next year would be even
fits and EIPs were spent primarily discussed better. This interviewee was the only one in our
covering essential expenses. This included pay- sample to make a clear connection between re-
ing “the bills” (such as rent and utilities), and ceipt of pandemic relief funds and labor force
thus the funds helped offset some of the de- participation, stating that because “the govern-
scribed financial hardships. A handful of inter- ment has given us free money, we don’t really
viewees suggested that these programs covered have to work.”
no more—and sometimes less—than their es- Only one other interviewee even approxi-
sential living expenses. One interviewee who mately suggested pandemic relief funds acted
was laid off from their job early in the pan- as a disincentive to work. After describing their
demic put it plainly, stating “there’s nothing partner’s ability to find informal work as being
left over for anything” after using their unem- back and forth—consisting of anywhere be-
ployment check for basic needs. When asked tween five and forty hours per week—the
how a temporary layoff affected their pay and worker-student discussed the tension their
benefits, a worker at a meat processing plant partner felt between trying to earn income
remarked, “They kind of affected it a lot. Mean- through gig work and maintaining their cru-
ing I had to make a lot of sacrifices, but at the cial, albeit unreliable, UI benefits:
same time, the unemployment did help. It did
help a lot. If it wasn’t for that I don’t know how Okay. So, like, when you’re on like unemploy-
I probably would have made it through to be ment, like if you make any additional money,
honest with you” [age 18 to 34, below 100 per- like usually, like put that in, and so it comes
cent, fall 2020]. off of what you get every week. So, like, when
Rather than covering ongoing living ex- he gets his unemployment check, he just
penses, a few interviewees allocated their EIPs, won’t work that week, just so we can keep that
in particular, to large, unexpected spending money coming in. Because when you do like
shocks such as a veterinary bill, braces for their too many weeks where you’re trying to pick

8. In addition to these programs, a handful of interviewees also discussed enhanced Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and rent and utility assistance.

r sf: t he russell sage f ou n dat ion jou r na l of t he so ci a l sciences
48 building a n open qua li tat i v e science

up side jobs and claim unemployment, to fill out unemployment, they said that wasn’t
they’re like, cancel your claim. So, like, he’ll a reason” [age 18 to 34, below 100 percent, fall
do like unemployment and then if like, they 2020].
hold up his account for like identity verifica- Several interviewees also criticized the pan-
tion for like a month, then he’ll like go and demic relief programs for the delays they expe-
work for it’s like, it’s really inconsistent. Be- rienced receiving benefits. For most, these ob-
cause I can’t even say, like he works as much jections were raised within the context of the
a week, just because it’s not the same at all, described financial hardships, when relief
every week is so different. But normally, he’ll funds were urgently needed. Administrative
be a full-time everyday worker. [age 18 to 34, hiccups led to months of backpay in one case,
below 100 percent, winter 2021] and, in another, the post approval notification
that a review specialist would need to get in-
Earlier in the interview, the same inter- volved delayed the distribution of funds. A re-
viewee said “it’s like you’re not allowed to lated but distinct concern with UI implementa-
work” in reference to receiving their UI bene- tion was the inconsistent nature of payments
fits. even after they were approved. The former
server described their frustration with inter-
“Unemployment Has Been a Nightmare” rupted or intermittent payments, as illustrated
Although relief programs were intended to ease by these comments that also allude to delays
the financial stress on vulnerable households that compounded the inconsistency: “So I
brought on by the pandemic, challenges navi- started [serving] again, and I was making ends
gating the UI system in particular led to adverse meet, and COVID hit, that took away the job,
outcomes for some interviewees and their unemployment has been a nightmare, you
household members. Interviewees described can’t get it hardly, and if you do, they stop, they
interacting with the UI system as the worst, start it, they stop, they start it, there’s no, and
stressful, and a battle. Criticisms of the system it takes six months to even get it going, and
fell into four primary categories: being denied then if it stops, takes another three to four
or failing to receive assistance, delays in benefit months” [age 35 to 54, below 100 percent,
receipt, inconsistency of payments, and diffi- spring 2021].
culties contacting program administrators. The Finally, some interviewees found it difficult
first pertains to both UI benefits and EIPs; the to get in contact with UI administrators when
last three were raised in connection with the UI seeking more information about the program
system only. or their eligibility. As interviewees discussed
Some interviewees felt they were unjustifi- this and other shortcomings in the UI system,
ably denied benefits on applying, were deemed feelings of stress and anxiety were shared,
to be ineligible, or did not receive the assis- which serves as a testament to the criticality of
tance to which they felt entitled. The complex- funds for underresourced households. This
ity of program eligibility renders it impossible passage from the worker-student encapsulates
to tell which denials were supported by fact and several of the broad categories of complaint
which were unjustified, but it is clear in the highlighted in this section and illustrates how
transcripts that some interviewees felt as if the the program’s perceived flaws undermined
programs were not administered equitably. For both financial and mental well-being for those
example, the construction worker explained it was meant to serve:
that they had to take time off of work to super-
vise their children who were attending school I mean, I feel sick. Sometimes I get headaches
virtually from home. Eventually, the worker was just because of stress. And I mean that hap-
fired and later denied UI benefits: “So, I lost my pens being a student and working but it’s all
job. . . . There wasn’t like kids going back to that stress of like, it’s serious like, I wonder
school, which meant I had to stay home with like, “Okay, I have a bill due next month if I
my kids. Which meant I had no . . . I lost my job can’t pay it, what’s going to happen?” What
because of it. But when I checked, when I tried am I going to have my lights on? Or am I

r sf: t he russell sage f ou n dat ion jou r na l of t he so ci a l sciences
catching up a nd coping in the cov id econom y 49

gonna have my heat on what’s going to hap- of employment that took many forms, from a
pen here? . . . And really, I mean, you get your slight reduction in hours to a permanent layoff.
unemployment so inconsistent when you call The depth and prevalence of related financial
try to get help, no one answers. The lines are hardships described in the interviews chal-
so busy. I mean, they add that extra $300 here lenge the broader notion of households on firm
in [state], no one’s seen it yet. I mean, it’s just, financial footing as a result of the pandemic
it’s stressful, and it’s stressful, and it’s nega- relief programs. The experiences of many of the
tive. And day-to-day stuff right now it’s tough. interviewees are more illustrative of prior quan-
[age 18 to 34, below 100 percent, winter 2021]. titative studies highlighting some degree of
household-level financial distress than of re-
When delivered as expected, UI benefits and search suggesting a suppressed poverty rate or
EIPs helped ameliorate the financial hardships inflated checking account balances. Many of
that many households in our sample experi- the interviewees who received pandemic relief
enced during the COVID-19 pandemic and as- funds described them as paramount to cover-
sociated recession. Implementation and de- ing at least some essential living expenses, with
ployment challenges encountered by fewer references to saving the proceeds or us-
interviewees illustrate how the programs could ing the funds for discretionary expenses. Criti-
also prove detrimental to both financial and cisms of the UI system, in particular, gave voice
mental well-being. to the well-documented challenges to state of-
fices facing unprecedented demand for their
Discussion services.
In this article, we present our analysis of tran- We find little support for the position that
scripts from seventy-six in-depth interviews expanded safety net programs acted as a disin-
conducted with low-income households as part centive to participating in the labor force. In
of the American Voices Project. We sought to our sample of thirty-seven interviewees with
learn whether and to what extent a large-scale evidence of employment loss, in only one clear
qualitative data platform such as the AVP could case did an interviewee describe UI benefits or
contribute to public policy questions surround- EIPs in these terms. In only one other instance
ing the federal response to the financial and did an interviewee describe how UI rules and
employment disruptions brought about by the the irregular and inconsistent nature of benefit
COVID-19 pandemic that were known to dis- receipt affected their partner’s market deci-
proportionately affect low-income workers and sions. An important caveat to our findings,
households. Reflecting the direction of both however, is that the absence of evidence should
quantitative research and active policy debates not be confused with evidence of absence. Par-
during this period, the research questions we ticipants were not directly asked about how
used to guide our examination of the data set relief programs affected their employment
were: How did interviewees experiencing nega- decisions, so it is entirely possible that inter-
tive employment effects describe the role that viewees did not discuss “all aspects of their
safety net programs played in stabilizing house- experiences” (GAO 2022, 57) during the semi-
hold finances? And is there evidence that these structured interview.
programs affected the employment or job- There is also reason to believe that both the
search behaviors of beneficiaries? In this sec- study period and our sample selection criteria
tion, we begin by discussing our findings as could have made it more likely that we would
they relate to our research questions. Shaped read transcripts describing financial distress
as they are by our experiences with the data, we rather than work disincentives. To leverage the
end with our thoughts on how an immersive- rich responses to new questions added to the
interviewing platform such as the AVP could be survey protocol in September 2020, we begin
a resource for monitoring labor market condi- our study period in that month. Our sample
tions and related policy responses. therefore includes only interviews conducted
We find that for many low-income house- after the expiration of the $600 UI supplement
holds, the pandemic and recession led to a loss in July 2020, which may have ushered in a pe-

r sf: t he russell sage f ou n dat ion jou r na l of t he so ci a l sciences
50 building a n open qua li tat i v e science

riod of “material hardship for a multitude of UI Wade, and Browne 2020). Regarding the asso-
recipients” (Cortes and Forsythe 2021, 25). In- ciation between UI receipt and mental well-
terviews conducted between spring and sum- being, our research appears to be aligned with
mer 2020 may have revealed a different level of recent work showing that UI benefits were ef-
financial distress or additional evidence of ben- fective in lessening the probability of anxiety
efits affecting interviewees’ labor force partici- and depressive symptoms for households re-
pation. The same could be said for a study pe- ceiving benefits (Berkowitz and Basu 2021; Don-
riod that extended through the summer of nelly and Farina 2021).9 In their coverage of the
2021, when some states ended the $300 supple- stress surrounding denied claims, breakdowns
ment early, but the last interviews available in in communication, delayed payments, and the
the broader AVP database were conducted early financial hardships that ensued, AVP inter-
that summer. Further, we intentionally con- views with disgruntled applicants testify to this
structed our sample to learn more about the association.
experiences of the lowest-income households Further underscoring the exploratory value
most likely to be affected by the pandemic- of using qualitative data, the importance and
induced employment disruptions, but given vulnerability of gig work during this period
their income levels, these same households emerged as integral to some interviewees’ fi-
were also most likely to face difficulty making nancial experiences. Research suggests that al-
ends meet generally. Even so, the AVP tran- though overall fewer people participated in gig
scripts allowed us to burrow under the aggre- work in 2020 than in 2019 (FRB 2021), some
gate statistics and gave us a window into the who lost a job or had their hours reduced dur-
financial stability of scores of low-income ing the pandemic turned to gig work for in-
households during this period, and the view come (Reynolds and Kincaid 2023; Accenture
was not always as rosy as the top-line numbers 2021), and gig activity was almost twice as com-
would lead one to believe. mon for those saying it is hard to get by than
The interconnections between household for those living comfortably (FRB 2022). Earn-
financial stability and mental well-being high- ings from gig work were often considered es-
light the opportunity for discovery that we view sential or important in meeting basic needs
as an important strength of using qualitative (Anderson et al. 2021) and provided a financial
data in spaces where quantitative analysis may buoy for Black and Latinx families, before and
be more customary. Consistent with pre- during the pandemic (Fields-White et al. 2020).
pandemic work illustrating unemployment’s In some instances, income from gig work was
negative implications for mental well-being a substitute for those who did not apply for, did
(McKee-Ryan et al. 2005; Paul and Moser 2009; not receive, or could not wait for UI benefits
Singh and Siahpush 2016), research has found (Ravenelle, Kowalski, and Janko 2021). Gig
that households experiencing an income shock work was far from immune to the economic
or employment loss during the pandemic were disruption caused by the pandemic, however,
more likely than others to experience depres- as demand shifted away from ride-sharing and
sion or anxiety (Donnelly and Farina 2021; other services that required physical contact
Killgore et al. 2021; McDowell et al. 2021; Pan- and toward delivery services and online plat-
chal et al. 2023; Parker, Igielnik, and Kochhar forms for selling goods (FRB 2021; Accenture
2021; Singh, Lee, and Azuine 2021; Reading Tur- 2021; Liu 2020; Greig and Sullivan 2021). Put-
chioe et al. 2021; Guerin et al. 2021; Kelley et al. ting a finer point on this disruption, nearly all
2023). The connections between job loss or fi- of the dozens of contingent workers inter-
nancial stress and reduced mental well-being viewed for a qualitative study reported losing
have been shown to be strongest for low- employment due to decreased demand or re-
income workers (Guerin et al. 2021; Prime, strictions on in-person services (GAO 2022).

9. Although the negative association between difficulties with UI receipt and mental well-being is evident in our
sample of transcripts, those who are highly affected by stress have lower UI recipiency rates than those who are
not (Forsythe and Yang 2021).

r sf: t he russell sage f ou n dat ion jou r na l of t he so ci a l sciences
catching up a nd coping in the cov id econom y 51

Our findings broadly support the literature’s For any future efforts to create a large-scale,
depiction of gig work during the pandemic as immersive-interviewing data platform, we
both a fallback source of income and a source make the following suggestions aimed at either
of potential risk in the face of shifting demand improving access to these data or deepening
during a public health crisis (Greig and Sulli- the content. Regarding the former, transcripts
van 2021). should be made accessible to researchers on a
Overall, our analysis suggests that with rolling basis soon after interview completion,
some improvements, an ongoing effort to col- and the data set should be made publicly avail-
lect in-depth, nationally representative, quali- able. Both steps would drastically improve the
tative data could provide critical information platform’s ability to inform policy-relevant re-
to inform sound policy development in the fu- search. Further, with safeguards in place to en-
ture. Although it is true that our findings are sure the anonymity of participants, granting
largely aligned with prior research and that we access to the general public would not only
claim nothing as wholly novel, it is also true broaden its reach and expand its utility as a
that we did not gain access to the transcripts tool for evidence-based policy development
until more than eighteen months after the ear- (Chetty et al. 2020), but it would also improve
liest interviews in our sample were conducted, transparency by allowing the results of future
a period during which a robust body of research research to be replicated.
was published. The value of the AVP, then, lies To deepen the content collected, we recom-
in the potential for more timely access to a re- mend developing several topic-specific inter-
pository of information collected with an inter- view modules—with a labor market module
view protocol that can be modified to respond among them—to be delivered alongside a stan-
to the moment. For example, with dedicated dard set of core questions. Doing so would al-
resources and a process for timely transcrip- low for the elicitation of richer content without
tion, coding, and analysis, specific challenges extending an already lengthy interview proto-
surrounding UI receipt for affected workers, col. Next, to address what we recognized as
which were evident in our sample and likely missed opportunities in the transcripts, we rec-
present in transcripts preceding our study pe- ommend additional interviewer training on
riod, could have been quickly and clearly iden- how to ask probing follow-up questions, a prac-
tified. To be sure, these issues were raised in tice that might be more natural in a topically
the press (Murphy Marcos 2020) and richly de- focused, modular interview. Finally, we propose
scribed in later qualitative analyses (Ravenelle, a process that makes supplemental data collec-
Kowalski, and Janko 2021; GAO 2022), but a tion possible, potentially through a short sur-
more rigorous or more streamlined examina- vey or a tailored interview protocol targeting a
tion may have been possible if a nationally rep- specific subsample of interviewees. The ability
resentative sample of immersive-interview to explore a topic of interest in more depth
transcripts had been readily available as prob- would leverage the existing strengths of the
lems with UI receipt emerged. A vast array of AVP’s design and overcome the difficulties we
quantitative data sets that were not available or sometimes encountered in trying to interpret
widely used during the Great Recession—for interviewee remarks that lacked depth, clarity,
example, data on checking account balances or context. We acknowledge that this process
(Greig, Deadman, and Noel 2021), online job ap- would need to ensure continued participant
plications and postings (Marinescu, Skandalis, anonymity, be limited in scope so as not to
and Zhao 2021), small business payroll data overburden those involved, and include addi-
(Finamor and Scott 2021), and mobility track- tional compensation for interviewees, but such
ing data (Bartik et al. 2020)—were used to mon- a feature would allow researchers to better use
itor the COVID-19 recession as it unfolded. On- these data for more directed analyses.
going, systematic interviews could be a
qualitative complement to these data sets, mir- C o n c lu s i o n
roring their timeliness but improving on their In this article, we analyze the transcripts from
depth and richness. seventy-six interviews conducted with low-

r sf: t he russell sage f ou n dat ion jou r na l of t he so ci a l sciences
52 building a n open qua li tat i v e science

income households between the fall of 2020 R e fe r e n c e s
and the summer of 2021 as part of the American Accenture. 2021. “Platforms Work: Research with
Voices Project. We conducted this analysis be- Workers Using the Uber App During the First
cause we saw the potential for the AVP as a new Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Accenture. Ac-
source of rich information on labor market ex- cessed March 1, 2024. https://www.platforms
periences and wanted to assess the AVP’s abil- workreport.com.
ity to realize this potential. We did so by explor- Anderson, Monica, Colleen McClain, Michelle Fave-
ing the revealed experiences of households that rio, and Risa Gelles-Watnick. 2021. “The State of
lost employment during the COVID-19 pan- Gig Work in 2021.” Washington, D.C.: Pew Re-
demic and that ostensibly benefited from an search Center. Accessed March 1, 2024. https://
expanded social safety net. In the transcripts, www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/12/08/the
we find evidence of job loss for roughly half of -state-of-gig-work-in-2021.
our sample, and that, among these house- Arbogast, Iris, and Bill Dupor. 2023. “The Jobs Effect
holds, financial distress was not uncommon of Ending Pandemic Unemployment Benefits: A
and was sometimes described in terms of the State-Level Analysis.” Working Paper no. 2022–
stress and anxiety that often accompany it. Al- 010. St. Louis, Mo.: Federal Reserve Bank of St.
though vulnerable to disruption during the Louis. https://doi.org/10.20955/wp.2022.010.
pandemic, gig work was raised by some inter- Armantier, Oliver, Leo Goldman, Gizem Kosar, and
viewees as an important economic lifeline, as Wilbert van der Klaauw. 2021. “An Update on
were UI benefits and EIPs; administrative chal- How Households Are Using Stimulus Checks.”
lenges associated with the UI system proved an Liberty Street Economics. New York: Federal Re-
independent source of stress for some house- serve Bank of New York. Accessed March 1,
holds. We find little evidence that UI benefits 2024. https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed
or EIPs played a role in the labor market deci- .org/2021/04/an-update-on-how-households-are
sions of interviewees or their household mem- -using-stimulus-checks.
bers. Baker, Scott R., R. A. Farrokhnia, Steffen Meyer, Mi-
Our primary goal with this analysis was to chaela Pagel, and Constantine Yannelis. 2020.
assess the utility of a large-scale, immersive- “Income, Liquidity, and the Consumption Re-
interviewing platform such as the American sponse to the 2020 Economic Stimulus Pay-
Voices Project as a supplement to traditional ments.” NBER working paper no. 27097. Cam-
market data. In comparing our findings with bridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic
the literature, our conclusion is that although Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w27097.
the experiences of our sample add depth and Bartik, Alexander W., Marianne Bertrand, Feng Lin,
richness to the available quantitative analyses Jesse Rothstein, and Matthew Unrath. 2020.
and are a good reminder of the heterogeneity “Measuring the Labor Market at the Onset of the
that lies beneath averages and aggregates, we COVID-19 Crisis.” Brookings Papers on Economic
cannot claim any findings as wholly novel. We Activity, 239–68. Washington, D.C.: Brookings In-
interpret the alignment of our findings with the stitution. Accessed March 1, 2024. https://www
vast body of relevant research as a testament to .jstor.org/stable/26996642.
the quality and value of the AVP data set. Simi- Bell, Alex, Thomas J. Hedin, Peter Mannino, Roozbeh
larly ambitious data collection efforts in the fu- Moghadam, Geoffrey Schnorr, and Till von
ture would benefit from several modifications Wachter. 2021. “Disparities in Access to Unem-
to both improve timely access to the data and ployment Insurance During the COVID-19 Pan-
deepen its topical coverage. Given our experi- demic: Lessons from U.S. and California Claims
ences with the data and assuming these im- Data.” Summer Data Challenge Report. Wash-
provements, we believe a platform such as the ington: U.S. Department of Labor, Chief Evalua-
American Voices Project could represent a pow- tion Office. Accessed March 1, 2024. https://
erful complement to the growing suite of real- www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OASP/evaluation
time quantitative data available to inform both /pdf/CaliforniaPolicyLab_Final_20220105_508
public policy and public opinion. .pdf.

r sf: t he russell sage f ou n dat ion jou r na l of t he so ci a l sciences
catching up a nd coping in the cov id econom y 53

Bell, Alex, Thomas J. Hedin, Geoffrey Schnorr, and ———. n.d.-b “(Seas) Unemployment Level,” Series ID
Till von Wachter. 2020. “Analysis of Unemploy- LNS13000000, Labor Force Statistics from the
ment Insurance Claims in California During the Current Population Survey, January 2020–De-
COVID-19 Pandemic.” Berkeley: California Policy cember 2021. Accessed April 9, 2024. https://
Lab. Accessed March 1, 2024. https://www.capol www.bls.gov/cps/.
icylab.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Dec-21 ———. n.d.-c “(Seas) Unemployment Rate,” Series ID
st-Analysis-of-CA-UI-Claims-during-the-COVID LNS14000000, Labor Force Statistics from the
-19-Pandemic.pdf. Current Population Survey, January 2020–
Berkowitz, Seth A., and Sanjay Basu. 2021. “Unmet December 2021. Accessed April 9, 2024. https://
Social Needs and Worse Mental Health After Ex- www.bls.gov/cps/.
piration of COVID-19 Federal Pandemic Unem- Carey, Patrick, Jeffrey A. Groen, Bradley A. Jensen,
ployment Compensation.” Health Affairs 40(3): Thomas J. Krolik, and Anne E. Polivka. 2021. “Ap-
426–34. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2020 plying for and Receiving Unemployment Insur-
.01990. ance Benefits During the Coronavirus Pandemic.”
Besbris, Max, Sadie Dempsey, Brian McCabe, and Monthly Labor Review, September. Accessed
Eva Rosen. 2024. “Pandemic Housing: The Role March 1, 2024. https://doi.org/10.21916/mlr
of Landlords, Social Networks, and Social Policy .2021.19.
in Mitigating Housing Insecurity During the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2022.
COVID-19 Pandemic.” RSF: The Russell Sage “CDC Museum COVID-19 Timeline.” Accessed
Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 10(4): March 1, 2024. https://cdc.gov/museum/timeline
207–24. https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2024.10.4.10. /covid19.html.
Bitler, Marianne P., Hilary W. Hoynes, and Diane ———. n.d. COVID Data Tracker. Atlanta: U.S. De-
Whitmore Schanzenbach. 2020. “The Social partment of Health and Human Services. https://
Safety Net in the Wake of COVID-19.” Brookings covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker.
Papers on Economic Activity, 119–45. Washing- Chaney Cambon, Sarah, and Danny Dougherty.
ton, D.C.: Brookings Institution. Accessed March 2021. “States That Cut Unemployment Benefits
1, 2024. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26996638. Saw Limited Impact on Job Growth.” Wall Street
Boutros, Michael. 2020. “Evaluating the Impact of Journal, September 1. Accessed March 1, 2024.
Economic Impact Payments.” Political Economy: https://www.wsj.com/articles/states-that-cut
Fiscal Policies & Behavior of Economic Agents -unemployment-benefits-saw-limited-impact-on
eJournal. https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.374 -job-growth-11630488601.
2448. Chatfield, Sheryl L. 2020. “Recommendations for
Braun, Virginia, and Victoria Clarke. 2006. “Using Secondary Analysis of Qualitative Data.” The
Thematic Analysis in Psychology.” Qualitative Re- Qualitative Report 25(3): 833–42. Accessed
search in Psychology 3(2): 77–101. http://dx.doi March 1, 2024. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr
.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa. /vol25/iss3/17.
Bunker, Nick. 2021. “Indeed Job Search Survey June Chen, Frances, and Em Shrider. 2021. “Expanded
2021: COVID Concerns and Financial Cushions Unemployment Insurance Benefits During Pan-
Make Job Search Less Urgent.” Indeed Hiring demic Lowered Poverty Rates Across All Racial
Lab. Accessed March 1, 2024. https://www.hiring Groups.” Washington: U.S. Census Bureau. Ac-
lab.org/2021/06/29/indeed-job-seeker-survey cessed March 1, 2024. https://www.census.gov/
-june-2021/. library/stories/2021/09/did-unemployment-insu
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of rance-lower-official-poverty-rates-in-2020.html.
Labor (BLS). n.d.-a “All Employees, Thousands, Chetty, Raj, John Friedman, and Michael Stepner.
Total Nonfarm, Seasonally Adjusted,” Series ID 2021. “Effects of January 2021 Stimulus Pay-
CES0000000001, Employment, Hours, and Earn- ments on Consumer Spending.” Cambridge,
ings from the Current Employment Statistics sur- Mass.: Opportunity Insights at Harvard Univer-
vey (National), January 2020–December 2021. sity. Accessed March 1, 2024. https://opport
Accessed April 9, 2024. https://www.bls.gov unityinsights.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/
/ces/. Oi_Secondstimulus_analysis.pdf.

r sf: t he russell sage f ou n dat ion jou r na l of t he so ci a l sciences
54 building a n open qua li tat i v e science

Chetty, Raj, John N. Friedman, Nathaniel Hendren, Luby, Matthew Petric, Alex Ulyett, and Tucker
Michael Stepner, and the Opportunity Insights Van Aken. 2021. “Unequal America: Ten Insights
Team. 2020. “The Economic Impacts of on the State of Economic Opportunity.” Chicago:
COVID-19: Evidence from a New Public Data- McKinsey & Company. Accessed March 1, 2024.
base Build Using Private Sector Data.” Working https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights
paper. Cambridge, Mass.: Opportunity Insights at /sustainable-inclusive-growth/unequal-america
Harvard University. Accessed March 1, 2024. -ten-insights-on-the-state-of-economic-opportu
https://opportunityinsights.org/wp-content/ nity.
uploads/2022/10/2020_version.pdf. Dube, Arindrajit. 2021. “Aggregate Employment Ef-
Coibion, Olivier, Yuriy Gorodnichenko, and Michael fects of Unemployment Benefits During Deep
Weber. 2020. “How Did U.S. Consumers Use Downturns: Evidence from the Expiration of the
Their Stimulus Payments?” Working paper no. Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensa-
2020–109. Chicago: Becker Friedman Institute tion.” NBER working paper no. 28470. Cam-
for Economics at the University of Chicago. Ac- bridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Re-
cessed March 1, 2024. https://bfi.uchicago.edu search. Accessed March 1, 2024. http://www
/wp-content/uploads/BFI_WP_2020109.pdf. .nber.org/papers/w28470.
Coombs, Kyle, Arindrajit Dube, Calvin Jahnke, Ray- Dunn, Andrew, Thea Garon, Necati Celik, and Jess
mond Kluender, Suresh Naidu, and Michael McKay. 2021. “Financial Health Pulse: 2021 U.S.
Stepner. 2022. “Early Withdrawal of Pandemic Trends Report.” Chicago: Financial Health Net-
Unemployment Insurance: Effects on Employ- work. Accessed March 1, 2024. https://finhealth
ment and Earnings.” AEA Papers and Proceed- network.org/research/financial-health-pulse
ings 112 (May): 85–90. https://doi.org/10.1257 -2021-u-s-trends.
/pandp.20221009. Edin, Kathryn J., Corey D. Fields, David B. Grusky,
Cortes, Guido Matias, and Eliza Forsythe. 2021. “Im- Jure Leskovec, Marybeth J. Mattingly, Kristen
pacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic and the CARES Olson, and Charles Varner. 2024. “Listening to
Act on Earnings and Inequality.” Working Paper the Voices of America.” RSF: The Russell Sage
Series no. 41. Waterloo: University of Waterloo, Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 10(4):
Canadian Labour Economics Forum. Accessed 1–31. https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2024
March 1, 2024. https://www.econstor.eu/handle .10.4.01.
/10419/247213. Farrell, Diana, Peter Ganong, Fiona Greig, Max Li-
Creamer, John, Emily A. Shrider, Kalee Burns, and ebeskind, Pascal Noel, Daniel Sullivan, and Jo-
Frances Chen. 2022. “Poverty in the United seph Vavra. 2020. “The Unemployment Benefit
States: 2021.” Current Population Report no. P60- Boost: Trends in Spending and Saving when the
27. Washington: U.S. Census Bureau. Accessed $600 Supplement Ended.” Policy Brief. Washing-
March 1, 2024. https://www.census.gov/library ton, D.C.: JPMorgan Chase. Accessed March 1,
/publications/2022/demo/p60-277.html. 2024. https://www.jpmorganchase.com/content
Despard, Matthieu, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Yung /dam/jpmc/jpmorgan-chase-and-co/institute
Chun, and Stephen Roll. 2020. “COVID-19 Job /pdf/Institute-UI-Benefits-Boost-Policy-Brief
and Income Loss Leading to More Hunger and _ADA.pdf.
Hardship.” Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institu- Federal Reserve Board, Division of Consumer and
tion. Accessed March 1, 2024. https://www Community Affairs (FRB). 2020. “Update on the
.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/07/13 Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households: July
/covid-19-job-and-income-loss-leading-to 2020 Results.” Washington D.C.: Board of Gover-
-more-hunger-and-financial-hardship. nors of the Federal Reserve System. Accessed
Donnelly, Rachel and Mateo P. Farina. 2021. “How March 1, 2024. https://www.federalreserve.gov
Do State Policies Shape Experiences of House- /publications/2020-update-economic-well
hold Income Shocks and Mental Health During -being-of-us-households-preface.htm.
the COVID-19 Pandemic?” Social Science Medi- ———. 2021. Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households
cine 269 (January): 113557. https://doi.org/10.10 in 2020. Washington, D.C.: Board of Governors of
16/j.socscimed.2020.113557. the Federal Reserve System. Accessed March 1,
Dua, André, Kweilin Ellingrud, Michael Lazar, Ryan 2024. https://www.federalreserve.gov/publica

r sf: t he russell sage f ou n dat ion jou r na l of t he so ci a l sciences
catching up a nd coping in the cov id econom y 55

tions/2021-economic-well-being-of-us-house ing and Job-Finding Impacts of Expanded Unem-
holds-in-2020-executive-summary.htm. ployment Benefits: Evidence from Administrative
———. 2022. Economic Well-Being of U.S. House- Micro Data.” NBER working paper no. 30315.
holds in 2021. Washington, D.C.: Board of Gover- Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic
nors of the Federal Reserve System. Accessed Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w30315.
March 1, 2024. https://www.federalreserve.gov Ganong, Peter, Pascal Noel, and Joseph Vavra. 2020.
/publications/2022-economic-well-being-of-us “US Unemployment Insurance Replacement
-households-in-2021-executive-summary.htm. Rates During the Pandemic.” Journal of Public
Fields-White, Monee, Vivian Graubard, Alberto Ro- Economics 191 (November): 104273. https://doi
driguez, Nikki Zeichner, and Cassandra Robert- .org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2020.104273.
son. 2020. “Unpacking Inequities in Unemploy- Greig, Fiona, Erica Deadman, and Pascal Noel. 2021.
ment Insurance.” Washington D.C.: New America. Family Cash Balances, Income, and Expenditures
Accessed March 1, 2024. https://www.new Trends Through 2021. Washington, D.C.: JPMor-
america.org/pit/reports/unpacking-inequities gan Chase. Accessed March 1, 2024. https://
-unemployment-insurance. www.jpmorganchase.com/institute/research
Finamor, Lucas, and Dana Scott. 2021. “Labor Mar- /household-income-spending/family-cash
ket Trends and Unemployment Insurance Gener- -balances-income-and-expenditures-trends
osity During the Pandemic.” Economics Letters -through-2021.
199 (February):P 109722. https://doi.org/10.1016 Greig, Fiona, Erica Deadman, and Tanya Sonthalia.
/j.econlet.2020.109722. 2022. “Household Pulse: The State of Cash Bal-
Forsythe, Eliza. 2023. “Unemployment Insurance Re- ances at Year End.” Washington, D.C.: JPMorgan
cipiency During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Na- Chase. Accessed March 1, 2024. https://www.jp
tional Tax Journal 76(2): 367–391. https://doi.org morganchase.com/institute/research/household
/10.1086/724589. -income-spending/household-pulse-cash
Forsythe, Eliza, Lisa B. Kahn, Fabian Lange, and Da- -balances-at-year-end.
vid G. Wiczer. 2020. “Searching, Recalls, and Greig, Fiona, and Daniel M. Sullivan. 2021. “The On-
Tightness: An Interim Report on the COVID La- line Platform Economy through the Pandemic.”
bor Market.” NBER working paper no. 28083. Washington, D.C.: JPMorgan Chase. Accessed
Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic March 1, 2024. https://www.jpmorganchase.com
Research. Accessed March 1, 2024. http://www /institute/research/labor-markets/online-plat
.nber.org/papers/w28083. form-economy-through-the-pandemic.
Forsythe, Eliza, and Hesong Yang. 2021. “Under- Greig, Fiona, Daniel M. Sullivan, Peter Ganong, Pas-
standing Disparities in Unemployment Insurance cal Noel, and Joseph Vavra. 2021. “When Unem-
Recipiency.” Summer Data Challenge Report. ployment Insurance Benefits Are Rolled Back:
Washington: U.S. Department of Labor, Chief Impacts on Job Finding and the Recipients of the
Evaluation Office. Accessed March 1, 2024. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program.”
https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OASP Washington, D.C.: JPMorgan Chase. Accessed
/evaluation/pdf/University%20of%20Illinois% March 1, 2024. https://www.jpmorganchase.com
20-%20Final%20SDC%20Paper.pdf. /content/dam/jpmc/jpmorgan-chase-and-co
Ganong, Peter, Fiona Greig, Pascal Noel, Daniel M. /institute/pdf/when-unemployment-insurance
Sullivan, and Joseph S. Vavra. 2022. “Lessons -benefits-are-rolled-back-research-brief.pdf.
Learned from Expanded Unemployment Insur- Guerin, Rebecca J., John P. Barile, William W.
ance during COVID-19.” In Recession Remedies: Thompson, Lela McKnight-Eily, and Andrea H.
Lessons Learned from the U.S. Economic Policy Okun. 2021. “Investigating the Impact of Job
Response to COVID-19, edited by Wendy Edel- Loss and Decreased Work Hours on Physical and
berg, Louise Sheiner, and David Wessel, 49–90. Mental Health Outcomes Among US Adults Dur-
Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution. Ac- ing the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Journal of Occupa-
cessed March 1, 2024. https://www.brookings tional and Environmental Medicine 63(9): e571–
.edu/articles/recession-remedies. 79. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.000000000000
Ganong, Peter, Fiona E. Greig, Pascal J. Noel, Daniel 2288.
M. Sullivan, and Joseph S. Vavra. 2023. “Spend- Han, Jeehoon, Bruce D. Meyer, and James X. Sulli-

r sf: t he russell sage f ou n dat ion jou r na l of t he so ci a l sciences
56 building a n open qua li tat i v e science

van. 2020. “Income and Poverty in the COVID-19 Bank of Chicago. https://doi.org/10.21033/wp
Pandemic.” Brookings Papers on Economic Activ- -2020-15.
ity, 85–118. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institu- Karpman, Michael, and Gregory Acs. 2020. “Unem-
tion. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26996637. ployment Insurance and Economic Impact Pay-
Hinds, Pamela S., Ralph J. Vogel, and Laura Clarke- ments Associated with Reduced Hardship Fol-
Steffen. 1997. “The Possibilities and Pitfalls of lowing CARES Act.” Washington, D.C.: Urban
Doing a Secondary Analysis of a Qualitative Institute. Accessed March 1, 2024. https://www
Data Set.” Qualitative Health Research 7(3): .urban.org/research/publication/unemployment
408–24. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732397 -insurance-and-economic-impact-payments
00700306. -associated-reduced-hardship-following-cares
Holtzblatt, Janet, and Michael Karpman. 2020. “Who -act.
Did Not Get the Economic Impact Payments by Karpman, Michael, Stephen Zuckerman, Dulce Gon-
Mid-to-Late May, and Why?” Washington, D.C.: zalez, and Genevieve M. Kenney. 2020. “The
Urban Institute. Accessed March 1, 2024. https:// COVID-19 Pandemic is Straining Families’ Abili-
www.urban.org/research/publication/who-did ties to Afford Basic Needs.” Washington, D.C.:
-not-get-economic-impact-payments-mid-late Urban Institute. Accessed March 1, 2024. https://
-may-and-why. www
Holzer, Harry J., R. Glenn Hubbard, and Michael R. .urban.org/research/publication/covid-19
Strain. 2021. “Did Pandemic Unemployment Ben- -pandemic-straining-families-abilities-afford
efits Reduce Employment? Evidence from Early -basic-needs.
State-Level Expirations in June 2021.” NBER Kelley, Heather H., Yoon Lee, Ashley LeBaron-Black,
working paper no. 29575. Cambridge, Mass.: Na- David C. Dollahite, Spencer James, Loren D.
tional Bureau of Economic Research. Accessed Marks, and Tyler Hall. 2023. “Change in Financial
March 1, 2024. https://www.nber.org/papers Stress and Relational Wellbeing During
/w29575. COVID-19: Exacerbating and Alleviating Influ-
Horowitz, Juliana Menasce, Anna Brown, and Rachel ences.” Journal of Family and Economic Issues 44
Minkin. 2021. “A Year into the Pandemic, Long- (March): 34–52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834
Term Financial Impact Weighs Heavily on Many -022-09822-7.
Americans.” Washington, D.C.: Pew Research Killgore, William D. S., Sara A. Cloonan, Emily C.
Center. March 5. Accessed March 1, 2024. Taylor, and Natalie S. Dailey. 2021. “Mental
https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2021 Health During the First Weeks of the COVID-19
/03/05/a-year-into-the-pandemic-long-term Pandemic in the United States.” Frontiers in Psy-
-financial-impact-weighs-heavily-on-many chiatry 12: 561898. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt
-americans. .2021.561898.
Iacurci, Greg. 2021. “26 States Ended Federal Un- Kolko, Jed. 2021. “Job Search Activity Jumped Tem-
employment Benefits Early. Data Suggests It’s porarily in States Ending Federal UI Benefits.”
Not Getting People Back to Work.” CNBC, Au- Indeed Hiring Lab, May 27. Accessed March 1,
gust 4. Accessed March 1, 2024. https://www 2024. https://www.hiringlab.org/2021/05/27
.cnbc.com/2021/08/04/early-end-to-federal /job-search-activity-jumps-states.
-unemployment-pay-in-26-states-not-getting Liu, Jennifer. 2020. “‘I Simply Won’t Be Able to Meet
-people-to-work.html. My Day-to-Day Living Expenses:’ How Coronavi-
Jackson, Brandon A. 2024. “Motivated by Money? rus Is Impacting Gig Workers.” CNBC, March 24.
Class, Gender, Race, and Workers’ Accounts of Accessed March 1, 2024. https://www.cnbc.com
Platform-based Gig Work Participation.” RSF: /2020/03/24/coronavirus-pandemic-impact-on
The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social -gig-workers-on-demand-gig-economy.html.
Sciences 10(4): 191–206. https://doi.org/10.7758 Marinescu, Ioana, Daphne Skandalis, and Daniel
.2024.10.4.09. Zhao. 2021. “The Impact of the Federal Pandemic
Karger, Ezra, and Aastha Rajan. 2021. “Heterogene- Unemployment Compensation on Job Search
ity in the Marginal Propensity to Consume: Evi- and Vacancy Creation.” Journal of Public Eco-
dence from Covid-19 Stimulus Payments.” Work- nomics 200 (August): 104471. https://doi.org
ing paper 2020-15. Chicago: Federal Reserve /10.1016/j.jpubeco.2021.104471.

r sf: t he russell sage f ou n dat ion jou r na l of t he so ci a l sciences
catching up a nd coping in the cov id econom y 57

Marist Institute for Public Opinion. 2021. “NPR/ March 1, 2024. https://www.usatoday.com/story
Marist National Poll: Biden & Economic Stimu- /money/2020/04/17/coronavirus-crisis-part-time
lus, December 2021.” Marist Institute for Public -workers-struggle-get-unemployment/296489
Opinion, December 9. https://maristpoll.marist 4001.
.edu/polls/npr-marist-national-poll-biden National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).
-economic-stimulus-december-2021. 2023. “US Business Cycle Expansions and Con-
Mattingly, Marybeth J., Julia Gutierrez, Emily Ryder tractions.” Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of
Perlmeter, and Katherine E. Wullert. 2021. “It Economic Research. Last modified March 14,
Took a Pandemic: Expanded Assistance, Mate- 2023. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://www.
rial Hardship, and Helping Others During the nber.org/research/data/us-business-cycle
COVID-19 Crisis.” In Monitoring the Crisis: -expansions-and-contractions.
American Voices Project Report. Stanford, Calif.: Panchal, Nirmita, Heather Saunders, Robin Rudow-
Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality, Fed- itz, and Cynthia Cox. 2023. “The Implications of
eral Reserve Bank of Boston, Federal Reserve COVID-19 for Mental Health and Substance
Bank of Atlanta. Accessed March 1, 2024. Use.” Kaiser Family Foundation. Accessed March
https://inequality.stanford.edu/sites/default 1, 2024. https://www.kff.org/mental-health/issue
/files/research/articles/covid-material -brief/the-implications-of-covid-19-for-mental
-hardship_0.pdf. -health-and-substance-use.
McDowell, Cillian P., Matthew P. Herring, Jeni Lan- Parker, Kim, Ruth Igielnik, and Rakesh Kochhar.
sing, Cassandra S. Brower, and Jacob D. Meyer. 2021. “Unemployed Americans Are Feeling the
2021. “Associations Between Employment Emotional Strain of Job Loss; Most Have Consid-
Changes and Mental Health: US Data From Dur- ered Changing Occupations.” Washington, D.C.:
ing the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Frontiers in Psy- Pew Research Center. Accessed March 1, 2024.
chology 12 (February): 631510. https://doi.org https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021
/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.631510. /02/10/unemployed-americans-are-feeling-the
McKee-Ryan, F., Song Zhaoli, Connie R. Wanberg, -emotional-strain-of-job-loss-most-have
Angelo J. Kinicki. 2005. “Psychological and Phys- -considered-changing-occupations.
ical Well-Being During Unemployment: A Meta- Parker, Jonathan A., Jake Schild, Laura Erhard, and
Analytic Study.” Journal of Applied Psychology David S. Johnson. 2021. “Household Spending
90(1): 53–76. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010 Responses to the Economic Impact Payments of
.90.1.53. 2020: Evidence from the Consumer Expenditure
Miller, Sarah, Ashley Putnam, Merissa Piazza, and Survey.” Working paper no. WP-544. Washing-
Kristen Broady. 2023. Worker Voices: Shifting ton: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed
Perspectives and Expectations on Employment. March 1, 2024. https://www.bls.gov/osmr
Fed Communities. https://doi.org/10.59695 /research-papers/2021/ec210100.htm.
/20230524. ———. 2022. “Economic Impact Payments and
Mohanty, Abinash. 2021. “Despite Unemployment In- Household Spending During the Pandemic.”
surance, Many Households Struggle to Meet Ba- NBER working paper no. 30596. Cambridge,
sic Needs.” America Counts: Stories. Washington Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research.
D.C.: U.S. Census Bureau. Accessed March 1, Accessed March 1, 2024. https://www.nber.org
2024. https://www.census.gov/library/stories/20 /papers/w30596.
21/03/despite-unemployment-insurance-many Parolin, Zachary, Megan A. Curran, Jordan Matsud-
-households-struggle-to-meet-basic-needs.html. aira, Jane Waldfogel, and Christopher Wimmer.
Mulligan, Casey B., and Stephen Moore. 2020. “Un- 2020. “Monthly Poverty Rates in the United
employment Bonus Proves Its Harm.” Wall Street States During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Discus-
Journal, December 3. Accessed March 1, 2024. sion Paper. New York: Center on Poverty and So-
https://www.wsj.com/articles/unemployment cial Policy.
-bonus-proves-its-harm-11607037230. Paul, Karsten I., and Klaus Moser. 2009. “Unemploy-
Murphy Marcos, Coral. 2020. “Part-Time Workers ment Impairs Mental Health: Meta-Analyses.”
Finding Coronavirus Unemployment Benefits Journal of Vocational Behavior 74(3): 264–82.
Hard to Come By.” USA Today. April 17. Accessed https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2009.01.001.

r sf: t he russell sage f ou n dat ion jou r na l of t he so ci a l sciences
58 building a n open qua li tat i v e science

Petrosky-Nadeau, Nicolas, and Robert G. Valletta. Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality. 2021.
2023. “UI Generosity and Job Acceptance: Ef- “American Voices Project Methodology.” Ac-
fects of the 2020 CARES Act.” Working Paper cessed October 30, 2023. https://inequality
2021-13. San Francisco: Federal Reserve Bank. .stanford.edu/avp/methodology.
https://doi.org/10.24148/wp2021-13. Tong, Allison, Peter Sainsbury, and Jonathan Craig.
Prime, Heather, Mark Wade, and Dillion T. Browne. 2007. “Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Quali-
2020. “Risk and Resilience in Family Well-Being tative Research (COREQ): A 32-Item Checklist
During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” American Psy- for Interviews and Focus Groups.” International
chologist 75(5): 631–43. https://doi.org/10.1037 Journal for Quality in Healthcare 19(6): 349–57.
/amp0000660. https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzm042.
Ratcliffe, Caroline, Patrick Heck, Jeremy Burke, Mi- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). 2021. “How
sha Davies, Maxwell Kennady, and Eric Wilson. Will the Expansion of Unemployment Benefits in
2023. “Insights into Consumers’ Financial Stand- Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic be Re-
ing and Distress from 2019–2022: Evidence from corded in the NIPAs?” FAQ. Last modified April
a CDFI.” Office of Research staff report no. 29, 2021. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://
2023–01. Washington, D.C.: Consumer Financial www.bea.gov/help/faq/1415.
Protection Bureau. Accessed March 1, 2024. U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). 2021. “COVID-19:
https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents States Struggled to Implement Cares Act Unem-
/cfpb_consumers-financial-standing-distress ployment Insurance Programs.” Report No.
_southern-bancorp-bank_2023-04.pdf. 19-21-004-03-315. Washington: U.S. Department
Ravenelle, Alexandrea J., Ken Cai Kowalski, and Er- of Labor, Office of Inspector General. Accessed
ica Janko. 2021. “The Side Hustle Safety Net: March 1, 2024. https://www.oig.dol.gov/public
Precarious Workers and Gig Work During /reports/oa/2021/19-21-004-03-315.pdf.
COVID-19.” Sociological Perspectives 64(5): U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury). n.d.
898–919. https://doi.org/10.1177/07311214211 “Economic Impact Payments.” Accessed October
005489. 30, 2023. https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issu
Reading Turchioe, Meghan, Lisa V. Grossman, Annie es/coronavirus/assistance-for-american-families
C. Myers, Jyotishman Pathak, and Ruth Master- -and-workers/economic-impact-payments.
son Creber. 2021. “Correlates of Mental Health U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).
Symptoms Among US Adults During COVID-19, 2020a. Federal Efforts Could Be Strengthened by
March-April 2020.” Public Health Reports 136(1): Timely and Concerted Actions. Report no. GAO-
97–106. https://doi.org/10.1177/003335492097 20–701. Washington: Government Printing Of-
0179. fice. Accessed March 1, 2024. https://www.gao
Reynolds, Jeremy, and Reilly Kincaid. 2023. “Gig .gov/products/gao-20-701.
Work and the Pandemic: Looking for Good Pay ———. 2020b. Urgent Actions Needed to Better En-
from Bad Jobs During the COVID-19 Crisis.” sure an Effective Federal Response. Report no.
Work and Occupations 50(1): 60–96. https://doi GAO-21-191. Washington: Government Printing
.org/10.1177/07308884221128511. Office. Accessed March 1, 2024. https://www
Singh, Gopal K., Hyunjung Lee, and Romuladus E. .gao.gov/products/gao-21-191.
Azuine. 2021. “Growing Job-Related Income ———. 2022. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance:
Losses, Increasing Social Inequities, and Physical Federal Program Supported Contingent Workers
and Mental Health Impact During the COVID-19 amid Historic Demand, but DOL Should Examine
Pandemic.” International Journal of Translational Racial Disparities in Benefit Receipt. Report no.
Medical Research and Public Health 5(2): 76–89. GAO-22-104438. Washington: Government Print-
https://doi.org/10.21106/ijtmrph.347. ing Office. Accessed March 1, 2024. https://www
Singh, Gopal K., and Mohammad Siahpush. 2016. .gao.gov/assets/gao-22-104438.pdf.
“Inequalities in US Life Expectancy by Area Un- Wardrip, Keith. 2021. “Who’s Employed in the Early
employment Level, 1990–2010.” Scientifica 2016: Months of the COVID-19 Recession? An Analysis
Article 8290435. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016 by Education, Race, Ethnicity, and Gender.”
/8290435. COVID-19: Equity in Recovery Series. Philadel-

r sf: t he russell sage f ou n dat ion jou r na l of t he so ci a l sciences
catching up a nd coping in the cov id econom y 59

phia, Pa.: Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. surance Benefits Impact Consumer Spending
Accessed March 1, 2024. https://www. and Employment?” CRS In Focus 12143. Wash-
philadelphiafed.org/-/media/frbp/assets/ ington: Congressional Research Service. Ac-
community-development/reports/equity-in- cessed March 1, 2024. https://crsreports.congr
recovery-whos-employed-in-the-early-months-of- ess.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF12143.
the-covid19-recession Wolcott, Erin, Mitchell G. Ochse, Marianna Kudlyak
.pdf. and Noah Kouchekinia. 2020. “Temporary Lay-
Whittaker, Julie M., and Katelin P. Isaacs. 2021. offs and Unemployment in the Pandemic.”
“States Opting Out of COVID-19 Unemployment FRBSF Economic Letter 2020-34. San Francisco:
Insurance (UI) Agreements.” CRS Insight 11679. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Ac-
Washington: Congressional Research Service. cessed March 1, 2024. https://www.frbsf.org/eco
Accessed March 1, 2024. https://crsreports.congr nomic-research/publications/economic-letter/20
ess.gov/product/pdf/IN/IN11679. 20/november/temporary-layoffs-unemployment
———. 2022. “How Did COVID-19 Unemployment In- -pandemic.

r sf: t he russell sage f ou n dat ion jou r na l of t he so ci a l sciences

File and source

File: catching-up-and-coping-in-the-covid-economy.pdf
Size: 1,271,010 bytes
SHA-256: 01f05aba7d873a446ac6ab1d3f480ac682e70e8956668109944c0da2ddbcdbea
Our copy: catching-up-and-coping-in-the-covid-economy.pdf
Original: doi.org