50% in poll say finances declined

A shopper reaches for cottage cheese inside a grocery store in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Monday, May 2, 2022. U.S. inflation-adjusted consumer spending rose in March despite intense price pressures, indicating households still have solid appetites and wherewithal for shopping. MUST CREDIT: Bloomberg photo by David Paul Morris
A shopper reaches for cottage cheese inside a grocery store in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Monday, May 2, 2022. U.S. inflation-adjusted consumer spending rose in March despite intense price pressures, indicating households still have solid appetites and wherewithal for shopping. MUST CREDIT: Bloomberg photo by David Paul Morris

Some 50% of Americans polled in January by Gallup said they felt worse off financially compared with a year ago, the highest share of respondents since 2009.

An even greater portion of lower-income respondents said they were losing ground, according to the Jan. 2-22 survey released Wednesday. About 61% of those surveyed with a household income of less than $40,000 reported being worse off, compared with 49% and 43% for middle- and high-income households, respectively.

Gallup noted that high inflation, rising interest rates and declining stock values likely weighed on Americans' financial situations. That said, the respondents remained upbeat about future finances despite looming concerns about a recession.

About 60% of them expected to be better off next year. That share is largely the same across different income groups, and Gallup said the optimism is not unique -- Americans generally tend to expect finances to improve rather than worsen.

"If this optimism holds and consumers act accordingly, it may help to minimize or avert an economic recession," Gallup's Jeffrey Jones wrote in the report.

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