By Howard Schneider
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. households reported little change in their economic well-being last year, with the cost of living remaining a top concern but nearly three-quarters of adults saying they were “doing OK or living comfortably,” the Federal Reserve reported in an annual survey of people’s attitudes about the economy.
The poll of 12,295 respondents was fielded in October, capturing the economic mood in the closing weeks of a presidential campaign that returned Republican Donald Trump to the White House.
The poll found 73% of respondents at least doing OK economically versus 72% in the year before and below the recent high of 78% in 2021, when federal pandemic income support programs were running full steam.
That overall finding, though, masked significant divisions among varying demographic groups. Among those with a college degree, 87% said they were doing OK, unchanged from the year before, but just 47% of those with less than a high school diploma said the same.
In contrast to views about their personal circumstances, however, only 29% considered the economy as a whole to be “good” or “excellent,” higher than the 22% reading in 2023 but well below the 50% who held that view in 2019, before the pandemic.
Though inflation had moderated by late last year, prices remained a top concern with 60% of adults saying rising prices from one year to the next had worsened their finances and 79% changing their shopping and spending habits as a result.
In 2023, 65% of those surveyed had felt inflation was making their financial life worse.
One closely followed topline question about cash available for emergency spending showed no change, with 63% of adults saying they would cover an unexpected $400 expense “using cash or its equivalent,” the same as in the past two years but down from 68% in 2021.
The survey also showed the fading effects of the “Great Resignation” in the job market, a pandemic-triggered reshuffling of the workforce.
The share of people who reported starting a new job or quitting an old one fell slightly to 14% and 9%, respectively, compared to recent peaks of 15% and 11% in 2022.
Among those workers who changed jobs, the share who felt it was better than their old one fell to 62% from 67% in 2023 and 72% in 2022.
The survey also found relatively low usage of cryptocurrencies, with just 8% reporting having either invested in them or used them for making transactions, up one point from 2023 but down from 12% in 2021 when the Fed first asked the question.
(Reporting by Howard Schneider and Michael S. Derby; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
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