Difficulty Paying for Household Expenses Eased but Still High After December Federal Aid

Since August 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau has been tracking the extent to which adults report difficulty paying for usual household expenses during the pandemic. In New Hampshire, at least one in five adults have reported paying for these expenses has been somewhat or very difficult in the prior seven days since the Bureau began asking the question. The Bureau identifies household expenses as including, but not limited to, payments for rent, mortgage, automobiles, student loans, medical expenses, or food. The federal government provided additional Economic Impact Payments and boosted unemployment compensation benefits starting in late December. Between mid-December and late January, the percentage of Granite State adults reporting that paying for usual household expenses was somewhat or very difficult fell from about one in three adults to one in four adults, with slightly more than one in four adults reporting difficulty in late February.