Some 58% of American workers fear their paycheck won’t be enough to support them and their families, according to a survey commissioned by the American Staffing Association and released Wednesday.
Financial anxiety was especially strong among parents with minor children (66%) and Hispanic workers (69%), the survey found. As a result of these concerns, 28% of adults planned to look for a new, supposedly better-paying job within the next six months, while 27% said they would look for a second job to help close the financial gap. Gen Y and Gen Z adults were much more likely to seek higher-paying jobs (40% and 36%, respectively) than their Baby Boomer parents, of whom only 13% planned to seek better employment. Nearly half of the older generation worried that their age might present a barrier to being hired for a more desirable position.
Even formerly well-paid workers have seen their paychecks cover substantially less in 2022, with inflation at 40-year highs, than before the Covid-19 pandemic and accompanying money printing. Median hourly earnings adjusted for inflation have fallen 3.6% in the last year alone. Another survey by the US Census Bureau came to similar conclusions: about a third of respondents reported that it was somewhat or very difficult to cover household expenses.
US President Joe Biden’s approval ratings are at record lows, and Americans are holding him responsible for what many economists believe will be a punitive recession. Between rising food costs, near-record high gas prices and a huge housing bubble, Americans are seeing their finances stretched thin. Even before the pandemic, nearly two out of three US residents didn’t have enough savings to cover an unexpected $500 expense.