By Alex Tanzi
More and more Americans are struggling to meet their usual payments.
According to a Census Bureau survey, more than immediately after the Covid-19 pandemic, when millions lost their jobs.
Specifically, 38.5% of adults in the US, some 89.1 million people, were in this situation between April 26 and May 8, according to the most recent survey, Household Pulse.
Last year the proportion was 34.4%, and 26.7% in 2021.
The Census Bureau collaborates with multiple federal agencies to compile the survey, developed during the pandemic to measure household experiences to help inform state and federal governments.
The proportion of distressed households varies widely depending on the part of the country in which they are located.
Residents of lower-middle-income states, such as Louisiana and Mississippi, face the greatest budget problems.
In 15 states, more than 4 in 10 adults live in households where it has been somewhat or very difficult to pay usual household expenses in the past seven days.
And nearly half of households are struggling in some metropolitan areas, such as Los Angeles and Riverside, California.
Southern states see the highest proportion of households having difficulty paying their usual household expenses in the last seven days.
To combat these budget problems, many households are turning to credit cards for help.
More than 25 million households report using credit cards or taking out loans to meet their expenses.
This is up from 22.4 million the previous year.
Credit card use will likely bring additional budget concerns in the short term, as the average interest rate on this type of debt now exceeds 20%.
With information from Bloomberg
News United States, English news United States, Household Pulse survey