The Federal Reserve released a snapshot report of how Americans view their personal economic and financial health. The central bank’s survey revealed that one-quarter of households are “just getting by,” a revelation that shows the U.S. economy still isn’t improving and millions of Americans still believe the country is in a recession.
Thirteen percent of respondents admitted that they were struggling to get by, while more than one-third (34 percent) of Americans conceded that they were somewhat worse off or much worse than prior to the Great Recession.
The study provided other important and telling details.
Nearly one-third (31 percent) of people who have yet to retire said that they have zero retirement savings or pension, including 19 percent of those who are on the cusp of retirement (aged 55 to 64). Close to half of U.S. adults averred that they aren’t thinking about retirement or financial planning.
When it comes to credit information, one-third of individuals who had applied for credit within the last 12 months said they were rejected or given less than what they had requested. Also, another 24 percent stated that they still have some sort of education debt.
As the government continues to purport that the recession has officially come to an end and the country is in its recovery phase, most Americans are still suffering the effects: wages have remained stagnant, millions are working part-time jobs, it takes a lot longer to find employment, mortgage debt is a problem for a lot of households, consumer debt is still an overall issue and most people can’t live life the way they used to.
Entering into the sixth year of the economic recovery and the nation still has very little to show for it, even after hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer stimulus, ultra low interest rates and inflationary policies exerted by the Fed itself.
The online survey was conducted with 4,100 U.S. adults between Sept. 17, 2013 and Oct. 4, 2013. Since this was an online study, there was no margin of error.
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