This is part of a series of blogs spotlighting the ALICE population and how our community can make a difference.
The pandemic has created two groups of ALICE workers: those who are in essential jobs and still working, typically on-site; and those who are in non-essential roles and now working far fewer hours or not at all.
Essential ALICE workers continue to keep our infrastructure running and take care of COVID-19 patients and others needing health care.
- Many do not have adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), so they are risking their health and their families’ health.
- Some employers have stepped up and are providing “hero’s pay,” but even $2 per hour more does not bring most ALICE workers to financial stability.
- Despite the ongoing economic slowdown, some employers have already pulled back “hero’s pay.”
- Even essential ALICE workers are still struggling paycheck to paycheck.
For many ALICE workers in what’s considered non-essential jobs, the economic slowdown has severely reduced employment. In Michigan, the overall unemployment rate stood at 6.9% in September after spiking at 24% in April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- The industries where ALICE works—food service, leisure, hospitality, tourism—have been hit the hardest.
- ALICE is more likely to work in small businesses, which on average offer lower wages and fewer benefits, and have been hit hardest by the pandemic: The number of small businesses open in the U.S. decreased by 19.1% between January and August 2020.
- Black and Hispanic ALICE workers are facing even higher rates of unemployment.
- With less access to the internet and computers, ALICE workers have more difficulty working from home.
An estimated 8 million Americans—most already struggling below the ALICE threshold—slipped into poverty between May and October of this year due to loss of income caused by the pandemic. An estimated 55 million Americans are now below the poverty line.
ALICE families face tough choices when they do not have enough income or assistance to afford basic necessities. The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated and shifted the challenges and risks to a family’s immediate health, safety and financial stability.
Check out our other blogs in this series at our Meet ALICE page.
