Recent consumer price index (CPI) inflation numbers revealed that inflation on all items increased by 3.7% in August compared to a year prior. Some of the biggest increases came from rent (7.3%) and car insurance (19.1%) prices. Grocery and electricity prices have also gone up. While gasoline prices have decreased from last year, the percentage change is significant compared to a month before (-3.3% compared to -19.9% in July).
Americans’ net worth and assets have both increased compared to the 2nd quarter of 2022 by 4.8%. At the same time, liabilities (all debts or obligations owed to someone else) have grown by 3.6%.
Recent surveys largely display a negative view of the state of the economy. 57% say inflation has personally affected them a lot, and 53% say the official inflation rate is higher than reported. 55% rank inflation as the top issue facing the United States, and more than 90% say they are worried about inflation.
Polling from Suffolk University Sawyer Business School/USA TODAY found that nearly 70% of Americans think the economy is getting worse, 84% say the cost of living is increasing, especially everyday goods, and nearly 60% disapprove of President Biden’s handling of the economy. David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston, described what the poll demonstrates:
This poll shows a real disconnect between the way the Biden administration has described the economy and how a majority of Americans say they feel about the economy and the need to curtail their spending in almost all categories. … We have many Americans, especially lower income families, who are not anticipating a happy holiday season this year.
Take a look at IWF’s Household Financial Report Card below for a useful summary of year-over-year inflation and assets, liabilities, and net worth percentage changes.
