In this week’s ongoing COVID data collection from CivicScience, concern about the Omicron variant, as well as concern about going out and about in public, continued to wane.

In fact, the percentage of those who self-report they are very concerned about Omicron is now the lowest figure observed to date.

In turn, consumer comfort in all activities CivicScience measures increased this week.

Notable gains were observed in dining out and travel, rising four and five percentage points respectively.

Ah, the Economy

The economy is in a bit of a precarious position as Omicron retreats, as no one knows what will come next in this stage of the pandemic. To look further at consumers’ income and what they may or may not have left each month, CivicScience launched a new survey examining disposable income.

The survey revealed that, after paying for bills and other essential items, nearly one-fifth of working adults in the U.S. have no money left from their paycheck(s) each month.

Among those who do have some money left over each month, more than a quarter (28%) spend most or all of it, but a higher percentage typically save most or all of it (43%). 

Insights the surveys gathered:

  • Older adults are more likely to save whatever income they have left over after their regular expenses are paid;
  • Those with lower incomes are more likely to have no money left over but are also more likely to spend what remains from their paychecks;
  • With fewer expenses to worry about, adults who still live with their parents are more likely to spend whatever money they have left over from their paycheck (and likely account for a good portion of lower income individuals who do so).

Individuals without disposable income are not only more likely to report they’re financially worse off right now, but they are also more likely to expect their personal finances to get worse in the future.