Report: Majority of Americans Living Paycheck to Paycheck, Many Blame Rising Inflation

Recently released survey data reports that the majority of Americans are feeling the pain of inflation and living paycheck to paycheck.

PYMNTS released its latest survey, which showed that as of November, 63 percent of U.S. consumers say they are living paycheck to paycheck, a 3 percent increase from the previous month but roughly the same as this time last year.

“Paycheck-to-paycheck consumers are less likely to be stable savers and more likely to lack savings and saving capacity,” the report said. “Our data shows that living paycheck to paycheck is a strong differentiator in the likelihood of having clearly defined financial goals. More than half of those living paycheck to paycheck with issues paying monthly bills have unclear short-term or long-term financial objectives.

According to the report, the majority of those living paycheck to paycheck blame inflation for their situation at least in part.

“Our data also finds that 57 percent of paycheck-to-paycheck consumers think high inflation has diminished their capacity to reach their long-term financial goals,” the report said. “Compared to a year ago, 32 percent of all consumers reported a decrease in the portion of their paycheck they can save, while 42 percent of consumers living paycheck to paycheck with issues paying bills say the same.”

The latest federal data has shown consumer prices rose about 7 percent overall in the last year, but some items like food rose much more.

The results vary by income bracket.

“In November 2022, 47 percent of consumers earning more than $100,000 per year reported living paycheck to paycheck, a 4 percentage point increase from 43 percent in October 2022,” the report said. “Meanwhile, in November 2022, 76 percent of consumers annually earning less than $50,000 were living paycheck to paycheck, compared to 74 percent the month prior, and 66 percent of consumers annually earning between $50,000 and $100,000 were living paycheck to paycheck, up from 65 percent the month prior.”

By Casey Harper

The Center Square was launched in May 2019 to fulfill the need for high-quality statehouse and statewide news across the United States. The focus of our work is state- and local-level government and economic reporting. www.thecentersquare.com

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