Wage Slaves

A Federal Reserve study on US citizens' well-being has revealed that almost a third of adults are just getting by and are never far away from serious financial hardships. And this despite record-low unemployment.

30 percent or 73 million adults in the US described their financial situation as difficult. It noted that the rates of hardship were higher in black and Hispanic populations compared with whites.

"Substantial shares of adults are struggling with their regular expenses or would struggle to cope with an unexpected hardship," the Federal Reserve said.

The report emphasized the continued impact of soaring health care costs on everyday Americans, with 10 percent of adults, or 24 million, carrying debt from medical expenses incurred over the last year.

The costs for higher education were another key difficulty, with more than half of the adults, who attended college, taking on debt.

The number of respondents saying they could not cover a $400 (357-euro) emergency expense, or would cover it by selling something or borrowing money, was 44 percent.