Personal finance-economy sentiment gap widens: Fed survey
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The Federal Reserve's annual household survey shows Americans are managing even as their perceptions of the broader economy have collapsed.
Why it matters: The gap between how people feel about their own finances and how they view the national economy remains far wider than pre-pandemic times. That divergence could help explain why consumer spending has chugged along even as other sentiment readings hit record lows.
By the numbers: Overall financial well-being held steady in 2025, with 73% of adults saying they're doing OK or living comfortably, according to the Fed's Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, also known as SHED.
- That share is unchanged from 2024, though it remains a few points shy of the 75% who said the same before the pandemic.
Yes, but: Only one-quarter of Americans rate the national economy as "good" or "excellent"— down 3 points from 2024, and a whopping 24 points below pre-pandemic levels.
- SHED is considerably less timely than other regularly released sentiment surveys, including those fielded by the University of Michigan. It was fielded in October 2025, though the sample is much broader and more detailed.
Even so, the findings align. Consumers broadly feel worse about the economy as concerns about inflation and the labor market weigh on them, even if they are less likely to downgrade the state of their own personal finances.
- Price increases remained the most common financial concern — cited by more than 9 in 10 adults — even as the share calling it a major concern edged down 3 percentage points from 2024.
- Concerns about finding or keeping a job climbed to 42% of adults, up from 37% in 2024, with increases recorded across all income levels and age groups.
Of note: For the first time, the Fed asked about generative AI at work.
- 1 in 4 workers said they used it on the job in the prior month, with adoption more than 4 times higher among holders of a graduate degree than high-school graduates.
- Users were also more likely to expect AI to improve their career than to worry that it would replace their jobs. But non-users were less optimistic, suggesting that the fear of AI may be most concentrated among people who haven't yet touched it.
