1、CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress INSIGHTINSIGHTi i Personal Income Growth During the COVID-19 Pandemic November 30, 2020 Personal income measures the resources an individual accrues over a period of time. Typically, measures of personal income move in line with the busines
2、s cycle (the pattern of economic expansions and contractions). During an economic contraction, individuals typically demand fewer goods and services, causing total output to decrease, unemployment to increase, and personal income to decrease. However, personal income has behaved unusually during the
3、 recession caused by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This Insight discusses recent patterns of personal income and offers potential explanations for its irregular behavior. COVID-19 Personal Income Patterns In contrast to many previous recessions, total personal income has increase
4、d during the COVID-19 recession (see Figure 1 and Figure 2). This is unusual, especially given the unprecedented decreases in employment and GDP. In April alone, personal income increased by over 12%. Personal income in September was still higher than it was in February, before the pandemic began, b
