The Year in Data

By Chris Wheat and Fiona Greig, JPMorgan Chase Institute

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented health and economic consequences and exacerbated existing inequalities—straining families’ economic mobility and restricting the U.S. economy. More than ever, decisionmakers need data-driven economic analysis with an inclusive lens. Over the last year, the JPMorgan Chase Institute continued to deliver groundbreaking research and expert findings on the financial health of US households and businesses aimed at helping policymakers, industry, and non-profit leaders make more informed decisions.

Today, we're sharing several key charts that summarize 2021. Collectively they illustrate the financial impact of the pandemic on households, workers, and businesses, as well as the role of government supports in counteracting some of the economic consequences of the pandemic.

With each round of stimulus, low-income families saw thegreatest relative gains in cash balances but depleted those gains faster thanhigh-income families 
Small personal servicesfirms and restaurants were significantly impacted by the pandemic. 

Chris Wheat is the Co-President for the JPMorgan Chase Institute. Fiona Greig is a Managing Director and the Co-President at the JPMorgan Chase Institute, which delivers data-rich analyses and expert insights for the public good.

JPMorgan Chase is a Goering Center sponsor, and the Goering Center is sharing this content as part of its monthly newsletter, which features member and sponsor articles.

About the Goering Center for Family & Private Business

Established in 1989, the Goering Center serves more than 400 member companies, making it North America’s largest university-based educational non-profit center for family and private businesses. The Center’s mission is to nurture and educate family and private businesses to drive a vibrant economy. Affiliation with the Carl H. Lindner College of Business at the University of Cincinnati provides access to a vast resource of business programing and expertise. Goering Center members receive real-world insights that enlighten, strengthen and prolong family and private business success. For more information on the Center, participation and membership visit goering.uc.edu.

Related Stories

2

CCM welcomes new film and media scoring faculty member J.R. Paredes

May 20, 2026

UC College-Conservatory of Music Dean Pete Jutras has announced the appointment of J.R. Paredes as CCM's new Assistant Professor of Film and Media Scoring. His faculty appointment officially begins on Aug. 15, 2026. Paredes is a composer, music producer and audio post-production specialist whose work spans film, television and commercial music. His credits include original scores for feature films and series distributed on platforms such as Apple TV+ and Prime Video, as well as extensive work in sound design and mixing for film and media.

3

Materials scientist gains valuable research experience

May 20, 2026

The opportunities at the College of Engineering and Applied Science are what attracted Ananth Balasubramanian to the University of Cincinnati. He came to UC as a master's student and after two years, transitioned to a direct PhD program in materials science and engineering. Here, he works in the Digital Fabrication Laboratory and recently was named Graduate Student Engineer of the Month by CEAS.