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Nearly three-quarters of American adults said they were doing OK financially or living comfortably in late 2017, according to a Federal Reserve report, a share that has climbed steadily as the unemployment rate has fallen.
The 74% of Americans reporting that level of economic well-being was up from 70% the year before and 62% in
2013, when the Fed first conducted the survey.
One-third said they’re living comfortably and another 40% said they’re doing OK, according to the survey of
12,000 people in November and December.
The improving economy and labor market have boosted Americans of all races and educational backgrounds. But more white people and those with higher education levels were financially content than minorities and people with high school degrees or lower.
The nation’s unemployment rate tumbled to 4.1% in December from 4.7% a year earlier and 6.7% in late 2013. Unemployment is currently 3.9%, lowest since December 2000. The low jobless rate has helped lift annual wage growth somewhat to 2.6% in April but pay increases are expected to pick up as employers struggle to find workers.
Forty percent of adults said they would not be able to cover a $400 emergency expense, or would have to do so by borrowing money or selling something, an improvement from 44% a year earlier and 50% in 2013. And 7% of those surveyed found it difficult to get by financially last year, about half the portion in 2013.
For the first time, the Fed tried to gain a better understanding of how the opioid epidemic relates to economic well-being. A fifth of those surveyed knows someone who has been addicted to opioids, and they have a less favorable assessment of the economy. Among the survey’s other findings:
❚ Eighty-seven percent of white people with a Bachelor’s degree or higher were at least doing OK financially, compared with 79% of black people and 78% of Hispanics with a college degree. Meanwhile, 69% of white people with a high school degree or lower were doing OK, vs. 60% of black people and 62% of Hispanics.
❚ Most workers were satisfied with their wages and benefits, but one in six have irregular work schedules that they didn’t request and one in 10 receive their schedules less than a week in advance. Three-fifths of workers would prefer a job with stable pay over one with varying but somewhat higher pay.