3 in 4 Workers Live Paycheck to Paycheck

The unemployment rate may be at a low 4.9 percent, with millions of workers back to work since the height of the recession, but Americans’ financial struggles are far from behind them. According to new research from CareerBuilder, 75 percent of American workers live paycheck to paycheck to make ends meet. While 38 percent of all workers only live paycheck to paycheck “sometimes,” 23 percent say they always live paycheck to paycheck, and 15 percent said they usually do. Perhaps it should come as no surprise, then, that the majority of workers (68 percent) say they are in debt, with more than half (55 percent) saying they feel their debt will never go away.

What Does This Mean For You?

As an employer, your employees’ money problems can become your problem as well. Workers may become so distracted by their financial struggles that their quality of work decreases. Financial struggles can take a hit on employees’ morale, productivity and ability to concentrate.

It’s worth your time and effort to help employees manage their finances and ease some of their financial worries – by doing things such as matching 401(k) contributions, hosing financial planning seminars, or providing discounts to local goods and services.