Although Americans' concerns about a recession have eased somewhat, new inflation worries have resurfaced.

Concerns about inflation and interest rates are now at their highest level in two years, according to a recent report from TransUnion, one of the three major credit reporting agencies in the United States.

TransUnion's Consumer Pulse Study found that while Americans' purchasing power is rising amid cooling inflation data and a strong job market, 84% of adults still rank inflation as their biggest concern, followed by home prices and interest rates.

“Positive progress continues to be made in reducing inflation,” said Charlie Wise, senior vice president and global head of research and consulting at TransUnion. However, “consumer sentiment continues to deteriorate.”

Is the United States in a "climate recession"?

The TransUnion report found that more than half (55%) of Americans are optimistic about their household finances in the year ahead, driven in part by confidence in the labor market and continued wage increases.

Yet despite the improvement in consumer confidence, workers remain at least somewhat dissatisfied with economic conditions. The disconnect between the economy’s overall strength and households’ perceived weakness is also known as the “atmosphere recession.”

To be sure, prices are still rising, just more slowly than before.

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 3.3% in May from the same period last year. This figure is lower than the peak of 9.1% during the epidemic in June 2022. The CPI is a key inflation indicator that measures the average price of a basket of consumer goods and services.

“The price levels we’re seeing right now are still much higher than they were two or three years ago, and that feels terrible,” Mr Wise said.

He added, “From filling up the gas tank to paying rent to buying groceries, most consumers are spending more today than ever before. If consumers use a credit card to make these purchases, their interest rates are higher, so costs are rising for those consumers who have a credit card.”

The TransUnion report also found that the gap between those who think their household incomes are keeping up with inflation and those who think they are not is widening.

“If you’re a homeowner or if you have financial assets, you’re doing fine, but you’re ignoring a huge portion of the population,” Joyce Chang, chairman of global research at JPMorgan Chase & Co., said at the CNBC Financial Advisor Summit last month.

“Wealth creation is concentrated among homeowners and high-income groups, but about a third of the population is excluded — that’s why there’s a disconnect between people’s perception and the reality shown by the data,” Zhang said of the past few years.

Consumers who use credit cards are in a worse situation

At the same time, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates 11 times in a row since 2022, and inflation is still rising, which has hit American working people particularly hard.

Many families have exhausted their savings and are now increasingly relying on credit cards to make ends meet.

And credit cards remain one of the most expensive ways to borrow money. The average credit card fee is nearly 21%, near an all-time high, according to Bankrate.

For now, those rates are likely to remain where they are, which also means there may not be much help in the future for those struggling in a "climate recession."

“It’s unlikely that rates will come down anytime soon, or quickly enough to provide meaningful relief to borrowers,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com.

McBride advises consumers to "take advantage of zero-interest credit card balance transfer offers, shop around for lower fixed-rate personal loans and home equity loans, and use as much of your income as possible to pay down debt as quickly as possible."

The article is forwarded from: Jinshi Data