For Americans, 2021 delivered healthiest finances in 8 years

Americans’ financial health reached its highest level in nearly a decade last year, the Federal Reserve said Monday, spurred by a strong job market and government support payments

WASHINGTON -- Americans' financial health reached its highest level in nearly a decade last year, the Federal Reserve said Monday, spurred by a strong job market and government support payments.

Almost eight in 10 adults said last fall that they were either “doing okay or living comfortably” when it came to their finances in 2021, according to an annual Fed survey, the highest proportion to say so since the survey began in 2013.

The survey of 11,000 adults was taken last October and November, when inflation had topped 6% year-over-year, though before Russia's invasion of Ukraine pushed gas and food prices sharply higher. The Fed did not ask any specific questions about how inflation was impacting Americans' financial situations.

The survey also took place before the huge omicron wave of COVID cases occurred in late 2021, causing some Americans to pull back on travel and other spending.