“Refunds” are less because the government lowered tax rates for the “working poor”, and the related amounts for tax withholding at the lower end of the income scale. Low wage, part time employees often end up with zero withholding liability. No pay, no “refund”.
Refunds were down after the Trump tax cut, due to more accurate withholding. Almost everyone’s taxes were lower, but IIRC the legacy media spun it as Trump taking money from poor people.