Recession's Toll Is Written in Cutbacks, Layoffs and Worry
Job Insecurity Is at Worst Level in 33 Years of Polls
XMAS and BEYOND
Given these stresses, Christmas spending plans have weakened further, to their worst in polling since 1985. Fifty-seven percent of Americans now say they'll spend less on holiday gifts this year than last. The closest in any previous year was 51 percent in 1991, when holiday sales were their worst in a generation.
Separately, the weekly ABC News Consumer Comfort Index is in the midst of its worst stretch since it began 23 years ago: Just 7 percent of Americans say the economy's in good shape, 22 percent call it a good time to spend money and fewer than half, 44 percent, rate their personal finances positively.
There are signs, moreover, of potentially deeper problems ahead. Many of these measures are dramatically worse among members of households in which someone's lost a job or had their pay or work hours cut -- indicating that further contraction in employment or incomes would have a strongly negative effect on consumer attitudes.
People who report a layoff in their household, for instance, are nearly 30 points more likely than other Americans to say they're cutting back on holiday spending -- 81 percent vs. 52 percent. They're nearly 30 points more apt to be "very worried" about maintaining their standard of living and 35 points more likely to be "very concerned" about paying for health care. And 41 percent in this group report falling behind on their rent or mortgage payments. That compares with just 9 percent of those who haven't been hit by a job loss.
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