Storch Advisors CEO Gerald Storch discusses the state of the American consumer ahead of the holiday season on Varney & Co.
America’s middle class is feeling the pressure like never before, according to new data.
Primerica’s latest Financial Security Monitor report for the third quarter shows that 55% of middle-income households now rate their personal financial situation negatively, an increase of six points from the previous survey.
A new survey from Primerica shows that a majority of middle-income Americans have a negative view of their household finances (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“For the first time in a year, a majority of middle-income households are feeling negatively about their personal finances,” said Glenn Williams, CEO of Primerica. “In fact, this latest report represents the highest negative rating we have seen since we began investigating exactly four years ago.”
Middle-income households’ view of the economy has also deteriorated over the past three months. A significant majority, 73%, said they had a negative view of the country’s economic health, up one point from the previous reading.
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The findings also indicated growing uncertainty about the economy, with 34% saying they are unsure about the direction of the economy, a sharp increase of 15 points from last quarter.
The survey surveyed households earning between $30,000 and $130,000 annually, and 40% of respondents cited inflation as their top concern, an increase of 8% from the previous quarterly survey.
High inflation of staples such as food and gasoline in recent years is increasingly taking its toll on the budgets of most American households. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The Ministry of Labor said this on Thursday consumer price index (CPI) – a broad measure of the cost of everyday goods such as gasoline, groceries and rent – rose 0.2% in September from the previous month and was 2.4% higher than a year ago.
High inflation has caused severe financial pressure for most American householdswho are forced to pay more for daily necessities such as food and rent. Price increases are especially disastrous for lower-income Americans, because they tend to spend a larger share of their already tight paychecks on necessities and therefore have less flexibility to save money.
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“Families continue to identify inflation as their top concern, with the stress this brings spilling over into concerns about being able to afford daily necessities such as food or groceries and going to the doctor, and managing their mounting credit card debt,” says Williams . said.
Primerica’s latest quarterly survey shows that middle-income households are increasingly concerned about their credit card debt (Photo illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Concerns about credit card debt among middle-income Americans are also increasing, according to the findings. Forty-four percent said they are more concerned about their credit card debt than they were a year ago, which is a 9% increase from last quarter and the highest level of concern since the question was first introduced in March 2023.
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“The results of our study reflect the increasing financial stress that middle-income families face,” Williams told FOX Business. “The recent rise in the cost of living is slowing and we must remember that many have fallen behind financially and are still recovering.”
FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.
