A recently released survey by the Federal Reserve shows that a third of American households believe they are financially worse off than they were five years ago, during the financial crisis. About three-quarters of respondents also expected either no raise, or that their income would decline in the upcoming year.
The Fed’s “Report on the Economic Well-being of U.S. Households in 2013” is the first survey of its kind and was conducted in September 2013. Four thousand households were asked about their incomes, savings, housing prices and other topics. The survey also details the rising burden of the student debt problem – now at $1.3 trillion – as a drag on future economic growth.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics and author of the book, Paying the Price: Ending the Great Recession and Beginning a New American Century, discussed some highlights from the report on the Knowledge at Wharton show on Wharton Business Radio on SiriusXM channel 111. Zandi noted that although low wage growth is hampering the recovery, trends are positive in terms of job growth. He predicted that in one or two years, enough higher-paying jobs will be created for wages to start rising again. He also talked about what’s happening in the stock market and where the housing market is headed. (Listen to the podcast at the top of this page.)
