The Affordability Crisis

The Affordability Crisis’ Effect on Employees and Employers

As someone who works alongside credit counselors who are on the phone every day with families struggling to manage their debt, I know the stress that financial pressure creates. But a recent NPR/PBS News/Marist poll puts stunning numbers to what many of us already feel in our bones: Americans are facing unprecedented affordability challenges, and the financial strain is taking a real toll.

The Affordability Crunch: A Stark Reality

The numbers from this poll should be a wake-up call for all of us. 70% of Americans say the area where they live is not very affordable or not affordable at all for the average family. Even more striking: that percentage has surged dramatically since just this past June, when it stood at 45%. That's a 25-percentage-point jump in just six months!

Think about what that means. In the span of half a year, a quarter of the country shifted from believing their community was affordable to feeling priced out. When our credit counselors talk to our clients, this is exactly what they’re hearing: rent increases, grocery bills that seem to climb every week, and the gnawing feeling that no matter how hard they work, they can't quite make ends meet.

The Economic Anxiety Gap: Who's Feeling It Most

What particularly concerns me as someone who works for a non-profit dedicated to helping people navigate financial challenges is how unequally this economic stress is distributed. The poll reveals troubling disparities that align with what our counselors see in their client counseling sessions:

Age matters significantly. Respondents under 45 were 17 points more likely than those over 45 years old to say the country was in a recession. Younger Americans (many of whom are trying to establish careers, start families, or buy their first homes) are bearing the brunt of affordability concerns.

Race plays a major role. Latinos were 22 points more likely than those who are white to say the country is in a recession, while Black Americans also reported feeling significantly more economic pressure. These communities often have less generational wealth to fall back on and are much more vulnerable to economic downturns.

Gender creates a divide. Women were 15 points more likely to say so than men when asked whether the country is in a recession. This tracks with what we know about women often managing household budgets and being more aware of day-to-day cost increases.

Most Americans Believe We're Already in a Recession

Perhaps the most telling finding: a majority of Americans believe we're currently in a recession, even though the technical economic indicators don't support that conclusion. The official definition involves consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, which we haven't experienced. Yet perception is reality for families trying to pay bills, and if it feels like a recession, the distinction matters little.

What's Driving the Pain? Prices, Prices, Prices

The poll makes clear that price levels are the overwhelming factor straining American budgets. But let’s be honest here – you and I don't need statistics to tell us this because every trip to the grocery store, every rent payment, every utility bill reinforces the message. Post-pandemic inflation may have slowed, but prices haven't returned to pre-pandemic levels, and for most families, wages haven't kept pace.

What This Means for Financial Well-Being

This poll confirms what our counselors have been observing: more Americans than ever before are just one “CHECK ENGINE” light or sick pet expense away from financial crisis.

When affordability becomes this strained, it’s almost always credit cards that become the stopgap. Medical bills go unpaid. Student loans get deferred. And things like groceries, rent, and medical prescriptions go on credit cards, where people pay only the minimum payment every month. Until they can’t afford the minimum payment. And then the “past due” emails and phone calls start.

The cycle of debt deepens, and what started as a temporary pinch becomes a long-term financial burden.

The Employer Opportunity: Supporting Financial Wellness Through EAP Programs

If you're struggling with debt that's become unmanageable, please know that you’re not alone. It may be cold comfort, but 70% of the people you know feel the same way. And if you're an employer watching this data unfold, there's something powerful you can do to support your workforce while protecting your bottom line.

Financial stress doesn't stop at the workplace door. When employees are worried about bills, debt collectors, and making ends meet, it directly impacts your organization's productivity, retention, and overall health. The cost of doing nothing is substantial and measurable.

The Real Cost of Financial Stress to Employers

Lost Productivity: Financial stress costs employers $2,726 per employee annually in lost productivity and absenteeism. That's not a minor line item, because for a company with 100 employees, that's over a quarter million dollars annually.

Weekly Impact: Employees lose an average of 7 hours of productivity each week due to financial stress. Across the U.S., this translates to $183 billion in lost productivity annually. Think about what your team could accomplish with those hours back.

Absenteeism: Companies that introduced Employee Assistance Programs with financial wellness components saw a 27% decrease in worker absenteeism. When employees have support managing their financial challenges, they show up, both physically and mentally.

Retention Crisis: Workers facing financial difficulties are 3 times more likely to search for another job. In today's competitive talent market, losing experienced employees to financial stress is a preventable loss. Financial wellness programs demonstrably improve retention.

Debt Management Solutions as an EAP Benefit

Progressive employers are recognizing that offering access to nonprofit financial wellness, credit counseling and Debt Management Plans through Employee Assistance Programs isn't just compassionate, it's strategic. Imagine being able to provide your employees:

Free Confidential Counseling: Employees would be able access certified credit counselors who review their complete financial situation, pull credit reports, and provide personalized guidance without judgment or sales pressure.

Debt Management Plans: For employees struggling with credit card debt, medical bills, or other unsecured debt, a DMP consolidates payments, reduces interest rates, and creates a clear 3-5 year path to becoming debt-free.

Financial Education: Proactive education on budgeting, credit management, and financial planning helps employees build skills before crisis hits.

Housing Counseling: Support for employees trying to purchase their first home, facing foreclosure, or navigating mortgage challenges.

Student Loan Guidance: Counseling to help employees understand repayment options, forgiveness programs, and strategies to manage education debt.

Why Partner with a Nonprofit Agency

Unlike for-profit debt settlement companies that may charge high fees and damage credit, nonprofit credit counseling agencies are focused entirely on client outcomes. For instance, we here are AFS are accredited, certified, and have helped over 500,000 people successfully manage more than $10 billion in debt since 1999.

Whatever non-profit you choose to provide these services through your EAP, by partnering with a non-profit, you're giving employees access to:

• Certified counselors with rigorous training and oversight
• Free initial consultations with no obligation
• Solutions designed for long-term financial health, not quick fixes
• Resources that employees can access confidentially, reducing stigma

Making It Happen

Adding financial wellness and debt management services to your EAP is simpler than you might think. Here at AFS, we work directly with HR teams to integrate seamlessly into existing benefits structures, provide employee education sessions, and offer ongoing support.

The employees struggling in that 70% who feel their area is unaffordable? They're your employees!

Think about that.

The younger workers feeling the recession more acutely, the working mothers managing household budgets, the diverse workforce facing disproportionate financial stress?

They're sitting in your offices on virtual meetings running your business; they’re providing patient services in your health care clinics; they’re stocking your shelves, making guest beds, writing awesome software, engineering better airplane wings, or pouring your guests amazingly delicious mojitos.

They’re the people you count on every day to come into work and do what you ask of them.

Offering them a real path forward isn't just good corporate citizenship. It's an investment that pays measurable returns in productivity, retention, and employee wellbeing.

Looking Forward with Realistic Hope

These poll numbers are sobering, but they also remind us that none of us are alone in our struggles. Millions of Americans are facing similar challenges. Economic pressures may be outside our individual control, but how we respond to them isn't.

Financial wellness isn't about having unlimited resources, it's about making informed choices, having a solid plan, and knowing where to turn when you need help. If this poll resonates with your own experience, if you're part of that 70% feeling the affordability squeeze, I encourage you to take one small step today toward financial stability and give a non-profit credit counseling agency a call.  

If you’re an employer, I urge you to examine whether a Debt Management EAP through an accredited non-profit would work for your people.

After all, everyone company’s website says, “our people are our greatest resource.”

If they really are, then we should help them.

Shouldn’t we?

Published Jan 5, 2026.