Impact of COVID on Employment and Earnings of SNAP Employment and Training Participants

ABSTRACT COVID-19 has adversely affected the employment and earnings of many US workers, but little is known about its effects among low-income workers. We use Unemployed Insurance data, SNAP administrative records and longitudinal survey data collected in 10 states before and during the pandemic, along with innovative counterfactual modeling methods, to estimate its effect on labor market outcomes of individuals enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training program. We find that COVID-19 decreased average quarterly employment by 13% and average quarterly earnings by 33%. We also find differences across subgroups defined by demographic, economic, and geographic characteristics.