Financial satisfaction of people in the U.S. rebounded strongly in the third quarter of the year, according to a new survey by the American Institute of CPAs, reversing the lows in the second quarter in the midst of the recession brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The AICPA’s Q3 2020 Personal Financial Satisfaction Index measured 33.1, representing a whopping 99 percent (16.5 point) increase from the previous quarter. That’s the biggest quarterly increase in the 27-year history of the PFSi, and a complete turnaround from the second quarter, when the index had its largest ever quarterly drop.
William Glasgall is Director of Public Finance at The Volcker Alliance in New York. A four-decade veteran financial journalist, Bill brings to the nonpartisan, nonprofit organization a deep knowledge of state and local government finances and fiscal policies and leads the Truth in State Budgeting and Financial Reporting project that is building on recommendations made in 2013 by the State Budget Crisis Task Force headed by Volcker Alliance Chairman Paul Volcker and former New York Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch. Bill is also senior adviser to the Ravitch Fiscal Reporting Program at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism in New York.Bill came to the Alliance from Bloomberg News, where he directed U.S. local-government coverage as Managing Editor for States and Municipalities that received awards from the National Press Club Foundation and other organizations. He also served as co-host of Bloomberg’s Global Week Ahead Podcast, as well as Editor-at-Large and Enterprise Editor, and has been a featured speaker at conferences held by Bloomberg, the Bond Buyer, Governing Magazine, Investment Advisor, and TD Ameritrade. Before joining Bloomberg, Bill spent almost 20 years at BusinessWeek Magazine as Senior Writer and Senior Editor, winning two Overseas Press Club prizes for international reporting and heading the magazine’s personal finance and lifestyle sections. He was also a regular commentator and host on the PBS-TV show “This Week in Business,” Editorial Director of the Investment Advisor Group, vice-president at Standard & Poor’s Corp., and a reporter and editor at the Associated Press and the Star-Ledger in Newark, New Jersey.Bill is a Trustee of the Overseas Press Club Foundation and former member of the Board of Overseers of the Knight-Bagehot Fellowship Program in Economics and Business Journalism at Columbia University, where he was a Fellow. He is a graduate of Boston University and lives in New Jersey.
Ajay Vij is senior vice president and industry head of financial services for Infosys.
Paul Atkins is the founder and chief executive of Patomak Global Partners. He served as commissioner on the Securities and Exchange Commission from 2002 to 2008 and was a member of the Congressional Oversight Panel for the Troubled Asset Relief Program from 2009 to 2010. He was a partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers and its predecessor firm, Coopers & Lybrand, and began his career as a lawyer with Davis Polk & Wardwell.
The PFSi is built around various factors, including the labor market. The gains can be mainly attributed to improvements in job openings per capita and underemployment. Those had the biggest impact on increasing the overall PFSi. The biggest factor driving the quarter-over-quarter rally was a 35 percent (37 point) decrease in underemployment. A decrease in underemployment improves overall financial satisfaction in the index. While there was an improvement in underemployment in the third quarter from Q2’s record high, it’s still 117 percent above its level a year ago. For the second consecutive quarter, underemployment is still the biggest negative contributor to the average American’s personal financial satisfaction. The Q3 underemployment level reflects data measured through the middle of September.
“As Americans continue to navigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to remember that the fundamentals of financial planning haven’t changed,” said AICPA PFS Credential Committee chair Dave Stolz in a statement Thursday. “Though the stock market’s record performance is encouraging, 2020 has served as a reminder of the volatile nature of markets. As the impact of COVID-19 continues to play out across the country, investors should weigh their risk tolerance and ensure they have ample cash on hand. Further, a tax-efficient financial plan that includes a diversified portfolio can give confidence that long-term financial goals will remain within reach through this period of extreme uncertainty.”
The coronavirus put millions out of work, prompting job openings per capita to show a record plummet earlier this year. In the third quarter, job openings started to recover, climbing 37 percent (20 points) compared to Q2. That factor is now only 10 percent below its measurement a year ago before the pandemic. The Q3 index comes from July data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
