>FDU POLL: Majority of New Jersey hurting financially
SUNDAY, 02 OCTOBER 2011 22:02
BY TOM HESTER SR.
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
New Jerseyans’ are feeling distinctly worse off financially and their outlook on the housing market has soured, according to a quarterly consumer survey by Fairleigh Dickinson University’s College of Business made public Monday.
A majority of New Jerseyans (51 percent) say they are worse off financially than they were a year ago, a six-point increase since April. About a quarter (26 percent) say they are about the same as a year ago, and about a quarter (23 percent) say they are better off.
Adding to consumers’ anxiety is the prospect of losing a job: 37 percent of workers say they are somewhat or very concerned with losing their job in the next 12 months. That figure is up 5 percent from April and up 7 percent since January. Workers in households making less than $50,000 per year are most worried about the possibility of losing their job, with 46 percent saying they are somewhat or very concerned. More than three in five of all adults (63 percent) continue to report that relatives or friends have lost a job in the past year.
People who own their house are more likely than renters to say they are worse off financially (53 to 42 percent), and much less likely than renters to say they are better off (19 to 35 percent). Looking at the year ahead, 38 percent say their financial well being will improve, while half (49 percent) think they will be the same or worse off.
One reason for consumers’ grim outlook is housing prices. Half (49 percent) say they expect housing prices in their area to go down in the next 12 months. That is a huge turnaround from just six months ago when half (49 percent) said they expected housing prices to rise, and only 30 percent said they thought housing would decline.
https://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/economy/majority-of-new-jersey-hurting-financially/all-pages