Although Americans’ assessments of their current finances are not much lower than last year, 50% of Americans now say their financial situation is going to get worse, according to a new Gallup survey.
This latest reading is, by one percentage point, the highest Gallup has measured in a trend stretching back two decades. Unemployment has surged to the top of the list when Americans are asked to name the most important financial problem facing their family, and significantly more adults are worried now than were worried a year ago about being able to pay housing costs and other financial obligations.
These results are from Gallup’s annual Economy and Personal Finance poll, conducted April 1-14.
The poll finds significant increases in the percentages of Americans worried about four specific personal financial issues, despite just 10% actually being worse off right now than a year ago. The greatest of these four issues is a nine-point year-over-year increase in the percentage of Americans worried about not having enough money to pay their rent, mortgage or other housing costs, from 30% to 39%. There have also been meaningful spikes in Americans’ levels of worry about not having enough to pay normal monthly bills, making minimum payments on credit cards and being able to maintain their standard of living. Read the full report.
