Fewer Americans see themselves as middle class

More people are acknowledging a downward slide, survey shows

WASHINGTON — A sense of belonging to the middle class occupies a cherished place in America. It conjures images of self-sufficient people with stable jobs and pleasant homes working toward prosperity.

Yet nearly five years after the Great Recession ended, more people are coming to the painful realization that they’re no longer part of it.

They are former professionals now stocking shelves at grocery stores, retirees struggling with rising costs and people working parttime jobs but desperate for full-time pay.

Such set backs have emerged in economic statistics for several years. Now they’re affecting how Americans think of themselves.

Since 2008, the number of people who call themselves middle class has fallen by nearly a fifth, according to a survey in January by the Pew Research Center, from 53 per cent to 44 per cent. Forty per cent now identify as either lower-middle or lower class compared with just 25 per cent in February 2008.

According to Gallup, the percentage of Americans who say they’re middle or uppermiddle class fell eight points between 2008 and 2012, to 55 per cent.

And the most recent National Opinion Research Center’s General Social Survey found that the vast proportion of Americans who call themselves middle or working class, though still high at 88 per cent, is the lowest in the survey’s 40-year history. It’s fallen four percentage points since the recession began in 2007.

Individuals and families who feel they’ve slipped from the middle class are likely to spend and borrow less. Such a pullback, in turn, squeezes the economy, which is fuelled mainly by consumer spending.

“How they think is reflected in how they act,” said Richard Morin, a senior editor at the Pew Research Center.

People are generally slow to acknowledge downward mobility. Many regard themselves as middle class even if their incomes fall well above or below the average. Experts say the rise in Americans who feel they’ve slipped below the middle class suggests something deeply rooted.

Why do so many no longer regard themselves as middle class? A key reason is that the recession eliminated 8.7 million jobs. A disproportionate number were middle-income positions. Those losses left what economists describe as a “hollowed out” workforce, with more higher- and lower-paying and fewer middleincome jobs.

Home ownership is among factors economists cite as markers of middle-class status. Others include being able to vacation, help children pay for college and save for a secure retirement. Yet stagnant middle-class pay, combined with steep price increases for college, health care and homes, have made those expenses harder to afford.