Economic Insecurity Hits 25-Year High

New York, NY, July 22, 2010--Economic insecurity in the U.S. is at its highest point in 25 years, according to a report released from the Rockefeller Foundation, and Jacob Hacker, a political science professor at Yale University.

Almost one in five Americans are estimated to be insecure in 2010, compared with less than one in eight in 1985, according to the report

"There is a clear long-term upward trend in the economic insecurity of American families," Hacker said in a press release.

"And while economic insecurity is substantially higher for less affluent and educated Americans than for other groups, it has risen across virtually all parts of American society -- it's an issue squarely confronting the American middle class."

The report defines the economically insecure as those whose available household income fell by at least 25%, after adjusting for inflation, from one year to the next due to a decline in household income, and/or an increase in out-of-pocket medical spending. The economically insecure also lack an adequate financial safety net.