【双语财讯】美联储调查：高通胀侵蚀美家庭财务安全，民众对经济不满情绪蔓延
Inflation has eroded US households' financial security, Fed survey shows

The inflation wave that crested at a 40-year high last year and remains elevated has eroded U.S. households' sense of financial security, the Federal Reserve reported Monday, with many saying they had reduced their savings to make ends meet, felt less secure about retirement, and had delayed purchases or swapped into cheaper products as they shopped.

In an annual survey showing the corrosive effects of inflation on Americans' economic confidence, the Fed said the percentage of respondents who said they were doing "at least okay financially" in 2022 tumbled by 5 percentage points - the most since the survey was launched a decade ago - to 73%. The Fed launched the "Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking" in 2013.

The share of those saying they were worse off shot up 15 points to 35%, the highest level by far since the Fed first started asking that question in 2014.

Those who considered their retirement savings "on track" fell to 31% among those not yet retired, compared to 40% in 2021.

The survey also suggested Americans' souring mood about their own finances carried over to their view of the national economy.

Even though the unemployment rate has been low, below 4%, since January of 2022, only 18% of respondents rated the national economy as "good" or "excellent," down from 50% as of 2019.

The survey was conducted in October, and the results included responses from a representative sample of 11,775 people.

Annual inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index peaked at 9.1% last summer, the highest since the early 1980s, and remains elevated now at 4.9%.

Fifty-four percent of adults said that their budgets had been affected "a lot" by price increases, with parents of children under 18, Black and Latin American adults and those with disabilities ranking among the most likely to report an impact from inflation.

Indeed, overall one-third of households cited inflation as their main financial challenge, up more than fourfold from 2016.