The latest figures paint a sobering portrait of the financial health of the American workforce: one out of every three individuals is just one paycheck away from falling behind.
New data released Monday by financial services company Bankrate indicates that 34% of Americans feel they are living the paycheck to paycheck lifestyle, with the number estimated to be even higher when factoring in "all U.S. adults, considering that 6 in 10 Americans (60.1 percent) are in the labor force," according to Labor Department numbers.
The latter is closer to the number given by LendingClub Bank in a 2023 study which focused on American consumers, finding that 61% live paycheck to paycheck.
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What's more, only 19% of those surveyed feel they are paid fairly for their work, while 24% feel they are "unfairly compensated" and another 19% feel they are "underpaid" when pitting their numbers against those of their colleagues with equivalent qualifications and work experience.
Bankrate noted a longstanding struggle for many Americans to develop a nest egg while indicating a dismal prospect of catching up.
"In the absence of automated savings, the presence of high inflation and a rising cost of living make it that much harder to get started. If you wait until the end of the month and try to save what is left over, too often there is nothing left over," Bankrate's Chief Financial Analyst Greg McBride said.
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Specific groups are being hit harder than others financially, with divorced workers topping the list at 49% and Gen X topping the list of age groups at 40%.
In terms of race, Hispanic Americans most commonly reported living paycheck to paycheck at 39%, followed by 35% of Blacks and 33% of Whites.
Regionally, Americans living in the South most commonly reported feeling as if they are forced to live paycheck to paycheck, with those living in the Midwest following closely behind.
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"Americans in the South have the lowest inflation-adjusted median income ($37,860) of any Census region, according to data from the Bureau," the report reads.
"Inflation in the Midwest and South, meanwhile, peaked at higher levels (9.5 percent and 9.8 percent, respectively) than in any other Census region."
