Remarkable Stability in "Doing Okay"

Three out of four adults say they are doing at least okay financially, according to the Federal Reserve Board's Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, fielded in the fourth quarter of 2020. The 75 percent figure is identical to what was reported at the same time one year earlier—before the coronavirus pandemic. 

The Fed's 2020 survey asked Americans about their financial wellbeing not only at the end of 2020, but also at two other times during the year as it tracked the impact of the pandemic on household finances. In April 2020, the percentage who said they were doing at least okay financially dipped to 72 percent. By July, it had climbed to 77 percent. This increase, explains the Fed, "is consistent with some interpretations that many aspects of government stimulus measures...appear to have blunted the negative financial effects of the pandemic for many families."

Here are the percentages of adults who said they were doing at least okay financially as of the fourth quarter of 2020 by selected demographic characteristics, and percentage point change since 2019...

Family income

$100,000 or more: 95% (0)

$50,000 to $99,999: 84% (0)

$25,000 to $49,999: 65% (-2)

Less than $25,000: 52% (0)

Race/ethnicity

Black: 64% (-2)

Hispanic: 64% (-2)

Non-Hispanic white: 80% (+1)

Parental status

No children: 78% (+1)

Children: 67% (-4)

Metro status

Metro area: 76% (0)

Nonmetro area: 69% (-3)

Source: Federal Reserve Board, Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2020

New Census Bureau Surveys Will Track Impact of Covid-19 on American Households and Businesses

Shortly after the Great Recession commenced in December 2007, the Federal Reserve Board realized it had a problem. The Feds had just finished interviewing respondents for the 2007 Survey of Consumer Finances when the economy went into a tailspin. The triennial Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) is the premier source of information on the wealth of American households. The Feds knew the results of the 2007 survey would be woefully out of date before they were even tabulated. What was a government agency charged with steadying the nation's financial wellbeing to do?

Be nimble, of course. Nimble describes the next steps taken by the Federal Reserve Board. The Feds went back into the field in 2009 to reinterview those who had participated in the 2007 survey. In doing so, they collected invaluable historical data in the midst of the deepest economic slump since the Great Depression.

Fast forward to today. The country faces another crisis that threatens not only our health but also our economy. Now it's the Census Bureau's turn to be nimble, and it is rising to the challenge. The bureau is launching two new surveys—the Household Pulse Survey and the Small Business Pulse Survey—to assess the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the nation's households and businesses. The goal of the Household Pulse Survey is "to measure various sectors impacted by Covid-19: employment status, consumer spending, food security, housing, education disruptions and dimensions of physical and mental wellness." The goal of the Small Business Pulse Survey is to collect "information on location closings, changes in employment, disruptions in the supply chain, the use of federal assistance programs, and expectations concerning future operations." The data from these surveys will be produced and disseminated in near real-time and made available to the public each week.

This is a heads-up. If you receive an email from the Census Bureau asking you to respond to the Household Pulse Survey or the Small Business Pulse Survey, take a moment to admire the nimbleness of this large government agency. Tell the bureau how things are going. You will be doing your patriotic duty by fulfilling "the urgent need for accurate, frequent data at this crucial moment in America's history."

Source: Census Bureau, Pulse Surveys, New Census Survey Provide Near Real-Time Info on Households, Businesses during Covid-19

What's Up with Americans' Low Well-Being?

Well-being fell in 21 states in 2017, according to a Gallup survey, a record decline surpassing the 15-state drop in 2009. No state saw an improvement in well-being—the first time without a winner since Gallup started tracking well-being by state in 2008. Gallup's well-being index is based on a number of questions probing five areas: sense of purpose, social support, financial security, sense of community, and physical health.

On a scale of 0 to 100, national well-being fell to 61.5 in 2017, down from 62.1 in 2016 and "the largest year-over-year decline since the index began in 2008," according to Gallup. Among states with declines in well-being, the metrics that worsened included...

• more experiencing worry on a given day
• decline in reports of receiving positive energy from friends and family members
• decline in those who have a leader who makes them "enthusiastic about the future"

Fifteen of the 21 states with declines in well-being were in the South and West, reports Gallup, and include biggies such as Florida, Texas, and California. The six states in the Northeast and Midwest with declines in well-being included New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Ohio.

Scoring the highest in well-being were South Dakota, Vermont, Hawaii, Minnesota, and North Dakota. At the bottom were West Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Oklahoma.

Source: Gallup, Record 21 States See Decline in Well-Being in 2017