Talking Points …

  • U.S. households feel much better about their personal finances, job security, and future economic prospects than they have at any point since mid-2009, according to a recent survey conducted by Absolute Strategy Research (ASR).
  • More consumers say they are better off financially now than a year ago, compared with the share saying they are worse off. Plus, a high 83 percent of workers feel very or fairly secure in their current jobs.
  • According to the ASR poll, 35 percent of consumers think they will be better off financially a year from now, outnumbering the 12 percent who expect to be worse off. Driving that hope is expectations about pay: 31 percent think their personal income will be higher over the next 12 months versus 14 percent who expect a pay cut.