MNI: Household's Financial Security Still Strained- Fed Survey
Inflation is still damaging households' confidence in their own finances.
Ongoing price increases continued to pressure U.S. households' sense of financial security at the end of 2023, the Federal Reserve reported Tuesday, with those doing at least okay financially still well below highs in 2021 and parents feelings particularly gloomy.
In an annual survey showing the corrosive effects of inflation on Americans' economic confidence, the Fed said the percentage of respondents who said they were doing "at least okay financially" in 2023 were down a percentage point and still well below the recent high of 78% in 2021. Parents "at least doing okay financially" showed a sharp decline last year dropping 5 percentage points over the year to 64% and down 11 percentage points from 2021. That is the lowest in the data series going back to 2015.
The share of those saying they were "worse off" eased 4 percentage points from the prior year but was still considerably worse than the 20% in 2021 and 24% in 2020. The share of those "better off" increased a percentage point over the year to 20%, but was well below the 32% in 2019.
The survey was conducted in October, and the results included responses from a representative sample of 11,400 people. Those able to meet an unexpected USD400 expense using cash or the equivalent, such as a credit card expected to be repaid in full at the next statement, was unchanged from the prior year at 63%.
Source: Federal Reserve