Even before the COVID-19 pandemic forced many businesses to close or reduce their hours and caused a wave of layoffs, nearly 40 percent of families in the state were struggling to get by, according to a new report from the United Way chapters in Maryland.

In 2018, the most recent year for which data is available, 39 percent of Maryland’s 2.2 million households were one emergency away from financial ruin, a 10-year high, the nonprofit reported.

More than 80 percent of those households made more than the federal poverty limit but still struggled to afford basic necessities like food, housing, healthcare and childcare, what the group calls Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, or ALICE, homes.

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