A recent report indicates that nearly 40% of Americans express concern regarding their ability to pay all their bills punctually, a figure that surpasses the levels observed during the Great Recession of 2008-09. The CNN poll highlights that 39% of respondents are apprehensive about their capacity to consistently meet their financial obligations. This represents a 33% increase compared to the peak of inflation experienced under the Biden administration and exceeds the 37% recorded during the 2008 financial crisis, when unemployment approached 10%, as noted in the survey.
Inflation rates during the Biden-Harris administration have reached unprecedented levels in contemporary history. Although there has been a slight easing in recent months, inflation remains persistently high, contributing to increased costs for essential items such as food, gasoline, housing, and utilities. CNN further reported that “consumers are still striving to recover from the price surges of the past few years.”
The Daily Signal, citing the survey, added:
“Still trying to catch up is an understatement. The gap between nominal wages and inflation-adjusted wages since 2021 is more than 20%. So, it looks like you’re making a lot more, but even accounting for official inflation, workers have lost thousands in income. Of course, if official inflation is a lie, which seems likely, going by real-world prices from housing to restaurants and groceries, then workers have lost a lot more. To illustrate, official inflation since COVID-19 is 21%, but fast-food menu prices—a standard finance proxy for true inflation—are up more than twice that, while housing costs have doubled since COVID-19, between rising house prices and rising mortgage rates. If those real-world numbers are closer to true inflation, then workers have lost potentially thousands per month.”
CNN additionally indicated that 35 percent of those surveyed, which amounts to more than one-third, have resorted to taking on extra part-time employment to meet their financial obligations. This situation affects 44% of Black individuals, 52% of Latinos, and nearly 50% of employees under the age of 45.
“That explains why jobs are rising on paper, yet the actual number of employed Americans is plunging—down 600,000 in the past eight months alone,” the Daily Signal noted further.
The recent poll indicates that over two-thirds of Americans are decreasing their grocery expenditures, while almost half are limiting their driving to conserve fuel costs. Moreover, 40% of Americans are resorting to credit cards to manage essential purchases such as groceries and gasoline. Data from the Labor Department published earlier this month revealed that employers created merely 114,000 jobs in July, which is below the anticipated increase of 175,000 as forecasted by LSEG economists. Additionally, the unemployment rate unexpectedly climbed to 4.3% from 4.1%, defying expectations that it would hold steady.
“It marked the highest level for the jobless rate since October 2021,” Fox Business reported.
