Rising costs and tight budgets strain Americans ahead of midterm elections
Summary
Many Americans are feeling financial pressure even when they have jobs. Wages are growing slower than prices, and some workers have to settle for part-time jobs or multiple jobs to cover their expenses.Key Facts
- Stacy Eichel lost her healthcare marketing job and now depends more on her side business, which is struggling as companies cut spending.
- The unemployment rate only counts people actively looking for work, but a broader measure, U-6, which includes underemployed workers, is still high at 7.6 percent.
- About 4.5 million people work part-time because they cannot find full-time work.
- Nine million Americans have more than one job, making up 5.5 percent of employed workers.
- Average wages went up 3 percent in the past year, but prices increased by 3.7 percent, meaning people can buy less with their earnings.
- In the most recent month, prices rose 0.6 percent while wages rose only 0.1 percent, increasing financial stress on workers.
- Many workers, including college graduates and former executives, work lower-paying or part-time jobs because better work is not available.
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