Failing to Save for a Rainy Day

If you wonder why consumers who have jobs are nonetheless timid about spending freely in this period of high unemployment, consider the findings of The Economist/YouGov polling conducted this month. Respondents who are employed (or self-employed) were asked how long it would take for them to exhaust their savings if they lost their job. Thirty-three percent said they “don’t have any savings,” while another 20 percent said they’d have enough to hold out “a few weeks.”