Pay loss expectations at record low, survey shows

The proportion of Americans expecting to lose employment income in the next four weeks hit a record low in September, according to a new poll.

The new Morning Consult survey, published on Wednesday, found that 8.1 percent of employed U.S. adults polled said they expected to see a decrease in their pay within that time period. 

That marks a 4 percentage point decrease from a survey the previous month, when 12.5 percent of respondents said they expected the same. 

The survey noted that the pay loss expectations fell most significantly among respondents from low- and middle-income households. 

Among workers from households that earn less than $50,000 a year, the poll found a more than 4 point decrease in the share of respondents who expected to lose pay within the next four weeks, which fell from 13.7 percent in August to 9.2 percent in September.

Meanwhile, the proportion of workers from households that earn between $50,000 and $99,999 who expected their pay to decrease within that time dropped from 13.2 percent in August to 7.3 percent last month, according to the survey.

The survey comes after the Department of Labor’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover report, released Tuesday, detailed that job openings in the country dropped sharply in August but businesses continued hiring employees at a steady rate, which kept job layoff numbers at a record low during the period.

This year has seen Americans’ concerns surrounding inflation and a possible recession rise amid sharp increases in the prices of food, energy and other commodities.

The new Morning Consult survey was conducted throughout September with a total of 2,220 U.S. adults, including 1,150 workers employed across a range of sectors, participating in the survey.