Financial Security Hits Lowest Point in 19 Months

Staff Report From Georgia CEO

Wednesday, April 20th, 2016

Despite an improving economy, Americans' financial security is at its lowest point in 19 months, according to a new Bankrate.com report. This is the least impressive reading since September 2014. Additionally, women are feeling worse about their financial security than men.

Surprisingly, millennials have the highest feelings of job security and they're the only age group to feel more comfortable with their savings. Millennials are also the most likely to say their overall financial situation is better now than one year ago.

Americans' discomfort with savings further undermined feelings of financial security, with 31% saying they're less comfortable with their savings now than one year ago – the highest percentage since December 2014.

"A key reason why Americans aren't feeling as rosy about their finances is stagnant income," said Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate.com's Chief Financial Analyst. "Although the market continues to add more jobs, with the supply of workers in many fields outweighing the demand, there have been fewer pay raises," he added.

Americans' feelings about their net worth and debt have remained relatively stable in recent months, too. As a matter of fact, Americans have stayed the course with the stock market since the terrorist attacks in Paris (November 2015) and Brussels (March 2016). Eighty percent said they're just as likely to invest in the stock market today as they were before the tragic events.