Financial and Monetary Systems

Everyday prices are surging. What effect does that have on personal savings in the US?

A clear glass jar containing coins is tipped over.

As prices increase, many Americans are saving less of their disposable incomes. Image: Unsplash/Alicia Razuri

Felix Richter
Data Journalist, Statista
  • As prices for everyday purchases continue to surge, many American families are struggling to make ends meet.
  • Americans saved just 4.4% of their disposable income in April – lower than at any point since the Great Recession, and down from 12.6% a year earlier.
  • But the latest decline comes after an unusual surge in savings during the pandemic, as lockdowns limited spending opportunities.

As prices for everyday purchases continue to surge in the United States, many families struggle to make ends meet. And even among those who manage to keep their standard of living and pay all their bills, something’s got to give.

According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Americans are now saving less than at any point since the Great Recession, indicating that money is indeed getting tight in many households that are feeling the sting of sky-high prices for food, fuel and housing.

In April, Americans saved just 4.4 percent of disposable personal income, which is down from 12.6 percent in April 2021 and the lowest rate since September 2008, when the country was in the middle of the Great Recession.

As the following chart shows, the latest decline in the personal saving rate comes after an unusual surge in savings amid the Covid-19 pandemic, when several rounds of stimulus checks bolstered Americans’ earnings at a time when lockdowns or other restrictions limited spending opportunities.

Discover

Beyond GDP: read the full transcript here

Personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income in the United States.
The COVID-19 pandemic saw a large increase in the amount Americans saved. Image: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Have you read?
Loading...
Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Stay up to date:

United States

Related topics:
Financial and Monetary SystemsEconomic Growth
Share:
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how United States is affecting economies, industries and global issues
A hand holding a looking glass by a lake
Crowdsource Innovation
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
World Economic Forum logo
Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

What does the new corporate borrowing boom mean for policymakers and business?

Larissa de Lima and Douglas J. Elliott

December 3, 2024

What is Davos? 7 things to know about the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum