About 31 percent of Americans, roughly 76 million people, are struggling to get by or are barely making it, and about 22 percent of the population thinks their spouse or partner will work, including informal jobs, to complement their day jobs, according to the Federal Reserve's report on the economic well-being of U.S. households in 2015.
As bad as all that may sound, that's good news when considering this year is brighter than last year and the one before that was even bleaker. There have been improvements made over the last couple of years, but that progress may have been almost exclusive to those who attended college, according to the report.
"There is little question that, on the whole, the financial well-being of Americans seems to have improved relative to the prior year and relative to the year before that," the report stated (PDF). "However, the many pockets of consumers who display elevated levels of financial stress and who are at risk for financial disruption in the case of further economic hardships remain a concern."
The Federal Reserve also noted a high prevalence of respondents indicating that they'd experienced some form of volatility in their finances. For the members of the lower class, the volatility often resulted in trouble paying bills each month.
The survey also revealed the lower class, when faced with financial volatility, often turned to alternative means of release such as payday loans, titles loans, pawnshop loans and loans against tax refunds. Many of the people who reported financial hardship indicated that they drew down their savings.
There was plenty of reasons for concerns outlined in the report, but many of the survey's respondents also indicated that they were "doing okay" last year. Many of them anticipate improvements in their financial situation next year.
However, there remains the concern of those pockets of the population who could find their finances sunk the next time they face hardship. The Federal Reserve pointed out that the likelihood of being faced with financial hardship isn't "uniform in the population," as people from various walks of life are vulnerable.
The takeaway from all of this is that there's a need to look at who is benefiting from the country's economic growth and those who aren't getting ahead because of it. Because while less people may be hurting, there are still millions others that are struggling more than ever.
