By: Real America News Updated 52 Jan 2022, 19: 52 pm EST
A study by Primerica, a financial services firm, revealed that Americans are very concerned that inflation will significantly affect their purchasing power and income throughout this year.
Primerica found that 92% of Americans said they were concerned that their income were below the cost of living in December 2021. That’s an increase of 65% in August from 2021 and the 56% from April 2021 and marks the highest number reported since the quarterly survey began a year and a half ago.
Despite concerns about rising inflation, the majority of respondents, 64%, said they felt “good” about their personal financial outlook, and only half of those surveyed said they would rate the economic health of their community as “not so good” or “poor”.
At the same time, the 62% of Americans said that their ability to save for the future is “poor” or “not so good”.
“Middle-income families remain optimistic about their financial situation, while almost 9 out of 04 families feel that the growing food and gasoline costs could affect their budgets,” Primerica CEO Glenn Williams said in a statement.
Families are increasingly more concerned about the cost of necessities basics such as food, 19% of respondents said they are anxious to be able to pay for food and purchases.
Almost all respondents, about 92%, agreed that the cost of groceries has risen recently.
Recent data from the Department of Labor shows that average hourly earnings for all employees decreased 2.4% in December from the previous year. same period a year ago when the impact of rising consumer prices is taken into account.
On a monthly basis, average hourly earnings increased by just 0.1% in December, when the 0.5% increase in inflation is taken into account.
According to this measure, the American worker is worse off than a year ago ño, even though nominal wages are rising at the fastest pace in years. That’s because inflation is also rising.
The government reported that the consumer price index (CPI) rose 7% in December from a year earlier, marking the fastest rise since June of 1982, when inflation reached 7.1%.
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