42% of Hoosiers are struggling with everyday expenses
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New census data shows Hoosiers are having a harder time covering their everyday expenses than others in the Midwest as rising prices hit some areas harder.
Why it matters: While goods become more expensive and the job market cools nationwide, expect those local struggles to persist we approach the most expensive time of the year.
State of play: About 37% of American adults are living in households that found it difficult to pay for typical expenses between late June and late July, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey.
- That's an online survey that collects key socioeconomic data.
Zoom in: In Indiana, 42.1% of adults reported difficulty paying everyday expenses, the data shows. That percentage is the sixth-highest in the country.
- It is also the highest percentage in the Midwest, followed by Ohio (38.7%), Missouri (38.1%) and Nebraska (36.2%).
Between the lines: In Indianapolis, residents are dealing with economic difficulties as both the official and "true" unemployment rates rise in the Circle City.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics figures show Indianapolis' unemployment rate rose to 3.5% in June, continuing a slow climb that began at the start of the year.
Stunning stat: The Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity's True Rate of Unemployment analysis finds that one in five Indy residents spent the past year struggling to earn a living wage.
- The study measures the proportion of workers seeking but unable to find a full-time job that pays a living wage.
- The true unemployment rate tends to track — but also be much higher than — the headline Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment rate, which excludes anybody who has stopped looking for work.
- The BLS rate also excludes people who might be earning only a few dollars a week; LISEP, by contrast, counts anybody earning less than $25,000 per year as unemployed.
The big picture: Southerners are hurting the most, according to the Census Bureau's survey. Of the states with the highest percentage of adults who say they're having trouble affording their basic needs, most are in the South, with Mississippi (49.5%), Alabama (45.5%) and West Virginia (43.5%) topping the list.
- Washington, D.C. (19.3%); Vermont (26.4%); and Minnesota (27.4%) have the fewest residents reporting such difficulties.
The bottom line: Economic pain is everywhere — but it's not evenly distributed.