Nearly two-thirds of Americans now say they live paycheck to paycheck, a new poll has found — with nearly five percent of those struggling earning more than $100,000 a year.
As inflation lingers – the December CPI showed the headline index rose 6.5 percent over the trailing 12 months before seasonal adjustment – those feeling the pinch continue to rise.
A total of 64 percent of 4,000 people surveyed by industry publication Pymnts.com and LendingClub between Dec. 8 and 23 said they lived paycheck to paycheck.
That means 166 million Americans have no money to save at all at the end of the month.
And of those 166 million, 8 million — almost 5 percent — made more than $100,000 a year.
According to Bureau of Labor statistics, the average American earns $58,260 a year.
Rising energy prices have bitten into family budgets. A gas station in Los Angeles can be seen in September
The number corresponds to an increase of 9 percent compared to the previous year.
“The outlook for consumer spending is bleak,” said Lydia Boussour, senior economist at EY Parthenon.
“Increased prices, eroded personal savings and increasing reliance on credit point to weak consumer spending this winter.
“This momentum is compounded by negative wealth effects from lower stock prices and declining home values.”
Respondents also reported difficulties paying their bills.
Almost one in four people – 24 percent – said they had trouble paying their bills in December.
Among those earning more than $100,000 and living paycheck to paycheck, the proportion rose to 16 percent — up from 11 percent a year earlier.
Lydia Boussour, senior economist at EY Parthenon, warned that the situation is unlikely to improve anytime soon
The biggest increase in costs over the past 12 months has been energy: Heating oil has risen a whopping 41.5 percent year over year, according to Bureau of Labor statistics.
The food price increases have also hit the families hard.
They slowed in December but still rose uncomfortably quickly, up 10.4 percent year-on-year, federal data shows.
Dallas, the Twin Cities, and Baltimore suffer from some of the nation’s highest inflation rates for food prices, which are up 14.1 percent, 13.7 percent, and 13.5 percent, respectively, in those cities, according to an Axios analysis.
By comparison, food prices rose just 7 percent in Washington DC, 7.7 percent in Chicago and 8.8 percent in Miami, according to the report.
The latest CPI report showed that inflation for groceries continued to be higher than for restaurants in December, with in-home groceries up 11.8 percent and out-of-home groceries up 8.3 percent.
Food price hikes slowed in December but still rose uncomfortably quickly by 10.4% year on year, federal data showed
Grocery inflation continued to be higher than restaurants, with home dining up 11.8% and eating out up 8.3%.
Food inflation rates hit a 40-year high of 13.5% in August and have moderated somewhat since then.
The steep rises are being driven by rising energy and commodity prices, driven by the ongoing impact of pandemic supply chain disruptions and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has sent global wheat prices skyrocketing.
Also, an outbreak of bird flu has severely curtailed the national supply of eggs and pushed up prices in 2022.
The nationwide median price for a dozen large Grade A eggs rose to $4.25 in December — up nearly 140% from $1.79 a year ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
More than 43 million of the 58 million birds slaughtered last year to help combat the virus outbreak were egg-laying chickens, including some farms with more than a million birds each in large egg-producing states like Iowa.
Wholesale egg prices have fallen somewhat in recent weeks following the holiday baking, although it remains to be seen how much of this relief will translate into lower consumer prices.
The nationwide average price for a dozen large Grade A eggs rose to $4.25 in December — up nearly 140% from $1.79 in the same month last year
Restaurant prices also rose, although not as fast as food prices
Inflation in the US slowed again last month, rising at an annual rate of 6.5%. It was the sixth consecutive month that the annual inflation rate has fallen
Energy and many commodity prices eased or even declined in December, while food, services and housing prices continued to rise at an uncomfortable pace
December’s annual headline inflation rate of 6.5 percent marked the slowest annual pace for price increases since October 2021 and the sixth straight month of declining annual headline inflation rates from the June peak of 9.1 percent.