Economic Security Continues to Improve in 2012

A new report from the Economic Security Index (ESI) finds household financial insecurity has dropped nation-wide by 1.1 percentage points from 2011 (18.9%) to 2012 (17.8%). The report, “ESI Update: Economic Security Continues to Improve in 2012: Big Strains Remain” shows that while household security stablized broadly across the country, eleven states saw a significant drop in economic insecurity last year. And though insecurity for racial minorites has decreased since 2009, the level of insecurity in these households continues to exceed the national average.

The new data were compiled by ISPS political scientists Jacob S. Hacker and Gregory Huber, aided by Stuart Craig, an ISPS research associate; Philipp Rehm of Ohio State; and Austin Nichols of the Urban Institute.

More about ESI: The Economic Security Index is a comprehensive measure of economic security that tracks the proportion of Americans who see their “available household income”—their household income after paying for medical care and servicing their financial debts—decline by 25 percent or more from one year to the next and who lack sufficient financial wealth (such as savings) to replace this lost income.

See report.