4 out of 10 Americans Face "Insufficient Living Expenses"... Increase in Credit Card Loans

U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey
"38.5% of Adults Struggle with Routine Household Expenses"

Four out of ten Americans are reported to be struggling due to a lack of living expenses.

According to the recent Household Pulse Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau from April 26 to May 8, 38.5% of American adults responded that they have difficulty with everyday household expenses. This is a 4.1 percentage point increase compared to 34.4% a year ago, meaning approximately 89.1 million Americans are struggling to cover living costs.

This figure significantly exceeds the 26.7% recorded during the same period in 2021, when COVID-19 was at its peak. With soaring prices and rapidly increasing living expenses, Americans are experiencing tougher times than immediately after the pandemic outbreak.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Budget shortages were particularly severe in areas where middle- and low-income groups reside, such as Louisiana and Mississippi. In 15 states, four out of ten adults reported that it was somewhat or very difficult to manage everyday household expenses in the past week. In urban areas like Los Angeles (LA) and Riverside, where living costs have surged, half of the households were found to be struggling with living expenses.

U.S. consumer prices rose by 4.9% last month. Although this is lower than the peak inflation rate of 9.1% in June of last year, it still far exceeds the central bank’s target inflation rate of 2%. As inflation has increased the burden of living expenses for Americans, cases of credit card use or card loans have also risen. The number of households reporting the use of credit cards or card loans to meet spending needs increased from 22.4 million a year ago to over 25 million this year.

Bloomberg noted, "More Americans are struggling with spending issues now than immediately after COVID-19, when millions lost their jobs," adding, "Using credit cards or card loans with average interest rates exceeding 20% is likely to bring additional budget concerns in the short term."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.