Why the economic recovery doesn’t feel like one
By most measures, the American economy is improving. The unemployment rate has fallen to 5.1 percent while initial jobless claims have fallen. Growth in home prices has accelerated. But wages seem to be stuck, and the economic recovery doesn’t feel like one to many Americans, according to the results of the first Marketplace-Edison Research Poll about how people feel about their personal financial situations.
The takeaway: People are anxious.
![Which of the following best describes how you feel about your financial situation? Which of the following best describes how you feel about your financial situation?](/sites/default/themes/marketplacev2Responsive/images/pixel.gif)
More than three in five of those surveyed said they were anxious some of the time or frequently. What’s more, an even greater percentage said they lacked financial security.
![Think about your current financial situation. Do you think you are: Financial security responses](/sites/default/themes/marketplacev2Responsive/images/pixel.gif)
So with those findings in mind, it’s no wonder people feel stuck – only a slim majority in the survey said they had the opportunity to advance financially.
![Which better describes your current financial situation? Financial situation responses](/sites/default/themes/marketplacev2Responsive/images/pixel.gif)
It’s so bad, more than a quarter of people reported losing sleep because of their finances.
![Does concern about your personal financial situation currently ever cause you to lose sleep? Lose sleep responses](/sites/default/themes/marketplacev2Responsive/images/pixel.gif)
You can dig deeper into the full poll results here.
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