With inflation and escalating healthcare costs continuing to plague American workers, financial stress is on the rise and now impacting about half of employees, according to a survey by FinFit with Salary Finance. Inside the Wallets of Working Americans, the Fifth Annual Report found that financial stress does not discriminate based on income – almost 60% of those making under US$55,000 feel financial stress, but nearly 40% of those making over US$200,000 feel it, too.
Four out of five workers said that the rising cost of consumer goods over the past year impacted them, according to the report. In addition to the cost of inflation, healthcare costs continue to rise, with the average American family spending 20% more on premiums. More than one-fifth of American workers have unpaid medical bills and close to a quarter are skipping preventative medical appointments because of the cost.
Adding to the financial stress is the cost of caregiving. More than 20% of workers are financially supporting other family members in addition to their own children and more than 50% said that caregiving has had a significant enough impact that they had to borrow money from elsewhere.