Bay Area

Data Shows Some Bay Area Populations Struggling Financially in Post-COVID Economy

As the Bay Area’s economy continues its up-and-down recovery from the worst effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, recent data shows that many low-income households and communities of color are getting left behind. In a January report based on data analyzed via the “Bay Area Recovery Tracker” online tool, the Bay Area Equity Atlas found that despite some promising economic gains, the hope that a rising tide would lift all boats appears to be floundering.

Published

3 years ago

April 24, 2023

Oakland Post

A report from the Bay Area Equity Atlas shows low-income workers and communities of color still face significant hurdles when it comes to fully participating in the Bay Area’s recovery from the worst of the pandemic’s economic downturn. (Courtesy of Bay Area Equity Atlas via Bay City News)

By Kiley Russell
Bay City News

In a January report based on data analyzed via the “Bay Area Recovery Tracker” online tool, the Bay Area Equity Atlas found that despite some promising economic gains, the hope that a rising tide would lift all boats appears to be floundering.

“We’re finding this consistently, that low-income adults and people of color are continuously struggling to cover their usual expenses,” said the report’s author Simone Robbennolt.

The report found that six in 10 low-income adults in the Bay Area — people living in households earning less than $50,000 a year — and almost half of adults of color still report having a somewhat or very difficult time paying for usual expenses, compared to 21 percent of white people and 22 percent of people with higher incomes.

“That’s anything from buying groceries to paying house and utility bills or just keeping up with monthly card payments, and so we’re seeing consistently that this number is not really shifting and we’re kind of seeing almost a stagnation for some of these indicators where we would want to see progress almost three years out, four years out,” said Robbennolt, an associate with PolicyLink, which produces the Bay Area Equity Atlas along with the San Francisco Foundation and University of Southern California’s Equity Research Institute.

This comes amid an environment where many economic indicators continue to show some promise, despite worries over inflation, rising interest rates and tech-sector layoffs.

For example, data from the U.S. Department of Commerce shows that gross domestic product is estimated to have increased by 3.2 percent nationally in the third quarter of 2022 compared to the previous quarter and by 2.7 percent in the fourth quarter.

Also, gross domestic product — the value of goods and services produced in specific areas — increased by nearly 4 percent in California during the third quarter, with personal income growth hitting 5.2 percent in the state.

But by October 2022, 26 percent of people of color in the Bay Area reported a loss of income due to job loss or a reduction in hours or wages, while just 8 percent of white people reported a similar loss of income, according to data incorporated into the Equity Atlas dashboard from the U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey.

“We’re also seeing a gap widening between lower-income and higher-income households experiencing loss of employment income,” Robbennolt said. “When the pandemic first hit, there was about an 8 percentage point gap between these two groups and since then it’s increased threefold and we’re seeing a 23 percentage point gap.”

This appears to show that while higher-income white people are steadily recovering from the worst of the COVID downturn, lower-income people of color are heading in the opposite direction, despite some efforts to ensure an equitable economic recovery with policies like direct COVID relief payments and expanded unemployment benefits.

The report points out that there have long been “stark differences in income inequality” in the Bay Area, where income grew by 69 percent for very-high-wage earners and by 53 percent for high-wage workers from 1980 to 2019.

During the same period, income grew by 17 percent for middle-income workers and actually dropped by 2 percent for low-wage earners and 9 percent for very-low-wage earners.

“The pandemic, in a lot of ways, laid bare a lot of the existing inequities and made a lot of them worse,” said Louise Auerhahn, director of economic and workforce policy at Working Partnerships USA, a Silicon Valley organization that works to foster a more equitable regional economy, among other things.

It was “forcibly brought home” during the pandemic that the majority of jobs deemed essential — things like retail, food service and long-term care — are not well compensated or “valued in proportion to the value they bring to the economy,” Auerhahn said.

“The overwhelming majority of those in-person essential jobs are done by workers of color, immigrants and women in the Bay Area,” she said.

This phenomenon of “occupational segregation,” wherein workers of color are overrepresented in low-wage and low-quality jobs, is a consistent factor in the region’s racial pay gaps, according to the report.

For example, in San Mateo County, Latino workers account for 25 percent of the total working-age population but make up 74 percent of building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers, while white workers are 38 percent of the working population and hold 54 percent of management jobs.

To help lower-wage workers keep afloat during the pandemic, many federal, state and local governments implemented a variety of emergency policies, including food assistance, expanded unemployment benefits, direct payments and utility shutoff and eviction moratoriums.

“There’s a lot of data that those worked, that they really reduced poverty and people entering homelessness,” Auerhahn said. “But all of those are ended or are ending. It’s quite likely to get a lot worse in the next year if we don’t take some actions to mitigate the end of these supports that have helped people hang on.”

The report suggests several policies that could help foster a more equitable economic recovery, including implementation of a living wage, ensuring workers have health care, paid leave, retirement accounts and stable working environments, as well as ensuring people have the right to unionize.

“I think a lot of things are still in flux and there’s still an opportunity to make (the recovery) more equitable,” Auerhahn said. “You have to understand that our economy, as it is now, as it was before the pandemic, is very deeply and structurally inequitable, so if we proceed with business as usual it’s going to increase inequality.”

A link to the full report can be found at https://bayareaequityatlas.org/recovery-tracker/economic-security.

Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.

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Big God Ministry Gives Away Toys in Marin City

Pastor Hall also gave a message of encouragement to the crowd, thanking Jesus for the “best year of their lives.” He asked each of the children what they wanted to be when they grow up.

Published

4 days ago

December 29, 2025

Oakland Post

From top left: Pastor David Hall asking the children what they want to be when they grow up. Worship team Jake Monaghan, Ruby Friedman, and Keri Carpenter. Children lining up to receive their presents. Photos by Godfrey Lee.

By Godfrey Lee

Big God Ministries, pastored by David Hall, gave toys to the children in Marin City on Monday, Dec. 15, on the lawn near the corner of Drake Avenue and Donahue Street.

Pastor Hall also gave a message of encouragement to the crowd, thanking Jesus for the “best year of their lives.” He asked each of the children what they wanted to be when they grew up.

Around 75 parents and children were there to receive the presents, which consisted mainly of Gideon Bibles, Cat in the Hat pillows, Barbie dolls, Tonka trucks, and Lego building sets.

A half dozen volunteers from the Big God Ministry, including Donnie Roary, helped to set up the tables for the toy giveaway. The worship music was sung by Ruby Friedman, Keri Carpenter, and Jake Monaghan, who also played the accordion.

Big God Ministries meets on Sundays at 10 a.m. at the Mill Valley Community Center, 180 Camino Alto, Mill Valley, CA Their phone number is (415) 797-2567.

Oakland Post

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Activism

First 5 Alameda County Distributes Over $8 Million in First Wave of Critical Relief Funds for Historically Underpaid Caregivers

“Family, Friend, and Neighbor caregivers are lifelines for so many children and families in Alameda County,” said Kristin Spanos, CEO, First 5 Alameda County. “Yet, they often go unrecognized and undercompensated for their labor and ability to give individualized, culturally connected care. At First 5, we support the conditions that allow families to thrive, and getting this money into the hands of these caregivers and families at a time of heightened financial stress for parents is part of that commitment.”

Published

4 days ago

December 29, 2025

Oakland Post

Costco. Courtesy image.

Family, Friend, and Neighbor Caregivers Can Now Opt Into $4,000 Grants to Help Bolster Economic Stability and Strengthen Early Learning Experiences

By Post Staff

Today, First 5 Alameda County announced the distribution of $4,000 relief grants to more than 2,000 Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) caregivers, totaling over $8 million in the first round of funding. Over the full course of the funding initiative, First 5 Alameda County anticipates supporting over 3,000 FFN caregivers, who collectively care for an estimated 5,200 children across Alameda County. These grants are only a portion of the estimated $190 million being invested into expanding our early childcare system through direct caregiver relief to upcoming facilities, shelter, and long-term sustainability investments for providers fromMeasure C in its first year. This investment builds on the early rollout of Measure C and reflects a comprehensive, system-wide strategy to strengthen Alameda County’s early childhood ecosystem so families can rely on sustainable, accessible care,

These important caregivers provide child care in Alameda County to their relatives, friends, and neighbors. While public benefits continue to decrease for families, and inflation and the cost of living continue to rise, these grants provide direct economic support for FFN caregivers, whose wages have historically been very low or nonexistent, and very few of whom receive benefits. As families continue to face growing financial pressures, especially during the winter and holiday season, these grants will help these caregivers with living expenses such as rent, utilities, supplies, and food.

The funding for these relief grants comes from Measure C, a local voter-approved sales tax in Alameda County that invests in young children, their families, communities, providers, and caregivers. Within the first year of First 5’s 5-Year Plan for Measure C, in addition to the relief grants to informal FFN caregivers, other significant investments will benefit licensed child care providers. These investments include over $40 million in Early Care and Education (ECE) Emergency Grants, which have already flowed to nearly 800 center-based and family child care providers. As part of First 5’s 5-Year Plan, preparations are also underway to distribute facilities grants early next year for child care providers who need to make urgent repairs or improvements, and to launch the Emergency Revolving Fund in Spring 2026 to support licensed child care providers in Alameda County who are at risk of closure.

The FFN Relief Grants recognize and support the essential work that an estimated 3,000 FFN caregivers provide to 5,200 children in Alameda County. There is still an opportunity to receive funds for FFN caregivers who have not yet received them.

In partnership with First 5 Alameda County, Child Care Payment Agencies play a critical role in identifying eligible caregivers and leading coordinated outreach efforts to ensure FFN caregivers are informed of and able to access these relief funds.FFN caregivers are eligible for the grant if they receive a child care payment from an Alameda County Child Care Payment Agency, 4Cs of Alameda County, BANANAS, Hively, and Davis Street, and are currently caring for a child 12 years old or younger in Alameda County. Additionally, FFN caregivers who provided care for a child 12 years or younger at any time since April 1, 2025, but are no longer doing so, are also eligible for the funds. Eligible caregivers are being contacted by their Child Care Payment Agency on a rolling basis, beginning with those who provided care between April and July 2025.

“This money is coming to me at a critical time of heightened economic strain,” said Jill Morton, a caregiver in Oakland, California. “Since I am a non-licensed childcare provider, I didn’t think I was eligible for this financial support. I was relieved that this money can help pay my rent, purchase learning materials for the children as well as enhance childcare, buy groceries and take care of grandchildren.”

Eligible FFN caregivers who provided care at any time between April 1, 2025 and July 31, 2025, who haven’t yet opted into the process, are encouraged to check their mail and email for an eligibility letter. Those who have cared for a child after this period should expect to receive communications from their child care payment agency in the coming months. FFN caregivers with questions may also contact the agency they work with to receive child care payments, or the First 5 Alameda help desk, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PST, at 510-227-6964. The help desk will be closed 12/25/25 – 1/1/26. Additional grant payments will be made on a rolling basis as opt-ins are received by the four child care payment agencies in Alameda County.

Beginning in the second year of Measure C implementation, FFN caregivers who care for a child from birth to age five and receive an Alameda County subsidized voucher will get an additional $500 per month. This amounts to an annual increase of about $6,000 per child receiving a subsidy. Together with more Measure C funding expected to flow back into the community as part of First 5’s 5-Year Plan, investments will continue to become available in the coming year for addressing the needs of childcare providers in Alameda County.

About First 5 Alameda County

First 5 Alameda County builds the local childhood systems and supports needed to ensure our county’s youngest children are safe, healthy, and ready to succeed in school and life.

Our Mission

In partnership with the community, we support a county-wide continuous prevention and early intervention system that promotes optimal health and development, narrows disparities, and improves the lives of children from birth to age five and their families.

Our Vision

Every child in Alameda County will have optimal health, development, and well-being to reach their greatest potential.

Learn more at www.first5alameda.org.