Getty Images; Chelsea Jia Feng/BI
Some Americans who secured jobs, homes, and stocks a few years ago are thriving financially.
The job market has tightened, home prices have surged, and stock prices have risen.
But some Americans are struggling to find jobs and afford homes — and not everyone invests in stocks.
Think back on your life two to three years ago. Did you have a job, own a home, and have significant investments in the stock market?
If the answer was yes to all three, then there’s a decent chance you’re feeling OK about the state of your finances. But if you didn’t check all three boxes, you might be among the Americans who remain frustrated by the economy.
If you had a job a few years ago and haven’t quit, there’s a good chance you’re still employed — layoffs have been low relative to historical levels. There’s also a good chance you’ve benefited from wage growth, which has exceeded inflation over the past year. But if you didn’t have a job and are searching for one now — including recent college graduates — you’re facing a considerably tougher labor market.
If you bought a home before 2021, there’s a good chance the value of your home has risen considerably in recent years. It’s also likely that you locked in a low mortgage rate. But if you’re trying to buy a home today, you’re facing a housing market that’s much less affordable than it was a few years ago.
If you’ve been investing in the stock market for a while, there’s a good chance you’ve benefited from rising stock values in recent years. But if you’re among the significant number of Americans who don’t own stocks directly or through retirement accounts or investment funds — 42% of US households as of 2022, the Fed’s Survey of Consumer Finances found — this hasn’t helped your finances. And people who want to start investing today might have a hard time buying stocks at a discount because by some indicators, many are overvalued, though maybe a bit less so after US stocks fell in recent weeks.
A consistent paycheck, homeownership, and stock holdings are perhaps the holy trinity of wealth…
..
