US household income fell in 2022 for third straight year, Census data shows
Americans' median household income fell last year as inflation maintained intensity
Personal income decline, consumer spending uptick cant go on much longer: financial expert Quincy Krosby
Quincy Krosby, Financial Chief Global strategist, discusses consumer spending, the labor market and inflation data.
American households' income fell last year as their cost of living jumped higher than it has in over four decades amid soaring inflation and marking the third straight annual decline since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The federal agency reported Tuesday that U.S. real median household income fell by 2.3% to $74,580 in 2022, down from $76,330 in 2021, noting that inflation rose 7.8%, which is the largest annual increase in the cost-of-living adjustment since 1981.
U.S. households' real median income fell in 2022 for the third straight year. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Despite the drop in income, the official poverty rate was not statistically different in 2022 than the year before, at 11.5%, with 37.9 million Americans living in poverty, according to the report. However, the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) rate, which accounts for participation in government programs, doubled from 5.2% in 2021 to 12.4% in 2022.
WHY ARE HOME PRICES SO EXPENSIVE? BLAME THE BOOMERS, BARCLAYS SAYS
The weighted average poverty threshold last year was $29,678 for a family of four.
The number of Americans working full-time jobs rose 3.4% last year. (David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images / Getty Images)
More U.S. workers took on full-time, year-round jobs last year, which increased by 3.4% from 2021, while there was an 1.7% increase in the total number of workers. The data showed that in 2022, 65% of employed women held full-time year-round positions, which is the largest share ever recorded.
AMERICANS' INFLATION EXPECTATIONS FOR NEXT FEW YEARS TICK HIGHER IN LATEST NY FED SURVEY
Inflation reached a peak of 9.1% in June 2022 on an annual basis, and while it has cooled, it remains well above the Federal Reserve's 2% target, sitting at 3.2% in July. Although average nominal wage growth grew 6.4% last year, it did not keep up with inflation for a majority of U.S. workers, according to a report earlier this year from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
A recent study from Indeed indicates wage U.S. growth is slowing. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images / Getty Images)
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
Meanwhile, recent data from job site Indeed indicates U.S. wage growth slowed sharply in the first half of 2023, and based on the current trajectory, will likely return to its pre-pandemic range of about 3% to 4% late this year or early in 2024.
FOX Business' Megan Henney contributed to this report.