Most US households say finances all right even as inflation still bites, Fed survey shows

US households reported little change in their economic well-being last year, with the cost of living remaining a top concern but nearly three-quarters of adults saying they were "doing OK or living comfortably," the Federal Reserve reported in an annual survey of people's attitudes about the economy.

The poll of 12,295 respondents was fielded in October, capturing the economic mood in the closing weeks of a presidential campaign that returned Republican Donald Trump to the White House.

The poll found 73 percent of respondents at least doing OK economically versus 72 percent in the year before and below the recent high of 78 percent in 2021, when federal pandemic income support programs were running full steam.

That overall finding, though, masked significant divisions among varying demographic groups. Among those with a college degree, 87 percent said they were doing OK, unchanged from the year before, but just 47 percent of those with less than a high school diploma said the same.

In contrast to views about their personal circumstances, however, only 29 percent considered the economy as a whole to be "good" or "excellent," higher than the 22 percent reading in 2023 but well below the 50 percent who held that view in 2019, before the pandemic.

Though inflation had moderated by late last year, prices remained a top concern with 60 percent of adults saying rising prices from one year to the next had worsened their finances and 79 percent changing their shopping and spending habits as a result.

In 2023, 65 percent of those surveyed had felt inflation was making their financial life worse.

One closely followed topline question about cash available for emergency spending showed no change, with 63 percent of adults saying they would cover an unexpected US$400 (HK$3,120) expense "using cash or its equivalent," the same as in the past two years but down from 68 percent in 2021.

The survey also showed the fading effects of the "Great Resignation" in the job market, a pandemic-triggered reshuffling of the workforce.

The share of people who reported starting a new job or quitting an old one fell slightly to 14 percent and 9 percent, respectively, compared to recent peaks of 15 percent and 11 percent in 2022.

Among those workers who changed jobs, the share who felt it was better than their old one fell to 62 percent from 67 percent in 2023 and 72 percent in 2022.

The survey also found relatively low usage of cryptocurrencies, with just 8 percent reporting having either invested in them or used them for making transactions, up one point from 2023 but down from 12 percent in 2021 when the Fed first asked the question.

Reuters