May 20, 2011
WEST PALM BEACH — The financial picture for US households improved in 2011’s first quarter as employment levels rose and consumers continued to better manage their household budgets. And in Florida, while consumers are still experience financial distress, improvements in almost every area led to the best quarter since the 4th quarter of 2008.
This is according to CredAbility, one of the leading nonprofit credit counseling and education agencies in the United States, which today released the CredAbility Consumer Distress Index results for the quarter ending March 31, 2011. The index is a quarterly measure that tracks the financial condition of the average U.S. household. It measures five categories: employment, housing, credit, how families manage household budgets and net worth. A score below 70 indicates a state of financial distress.
US households scored a 68.2on the Index’s 100-point scale, up from 67.2 in the fourth quarter of 2010 and the highest score since the financial crisis intensified in 2008’s third quarter. While the nation remains in financial distress – scoring under 70 for the 10th consecutive quarter – the 68.2 score reflects an increase in full-time and part-time jobs, the smart use of credit and better management of household budgets. On the flip side, the score dropped in the housing category, reflecting minimal improvements in mortgage delinquency rates and rising vacancy rates in apartments and other rental housing.
“The good news is that the full-time labor force grew by more than 540,000 people in the first quarter and consumers with stable incomes have a handle on their credit and household budgets,” said Mark Cole, chief operating officer for CredAbility, and author of the CredAbility Consumer Distress Index. “While the housing category continues to deteriorate, a gain of four points in the index during the past five quarters indicates that the majority of consumers are on the right track.”
The index also measures the financial distress level of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Among individual states, Nevada had the lowest score at 60.8, followed by Georgia, Michigan, Florida and Arizona – all states continuing to suffer from severe unemployment and housing problems. To see a detailed explanation of how the Index works and a national map, go to http://www.CredAbility.org/ConsumerDi.... A link to the Index will also be posted on the CredAbility Twitter account, which can be found at http://twitter.com/CredAbility.
Beginning with 2011’s first quarter, new data has been added to the index’s housing, credit and household budget categories. This change, combined with the creation of a 30-year history of the index, has resulted in revised scores for previous quarters.
National highlights from the first quarter include:
• The score for the Credit category was 82, the highest score since 2007’s second quarter. Credit scores were aided by fewer people filing for bankruptcy, with consumer bankruptcy filings dropping six percent nationwide from the same period in 2010.
• The Employment category jumped four points to 55.7 as unemployment and underemployment fell. The number of people working part-time due to economic reasons fell by 500,000 to 8.4 million. Still, the Employment score in the first quarter was the ninth worst quarter over the past 30 years, according to the index.
• The Household Budget category rose two points to 77, with data showing that Americans have more money remaining in their checkbooks after paying their bills. However, the ability to continue managing budgets will be under pressure if gasoline prices rise or even stabilize. Approximately 19,000 people who received budget counseling from CredAbility in the first quarter reported that each person spent $593 on gasoline during these three months, up 7.6 percent from the same period in 2010.
• The Housing category is the only one of five categories that fell in the first quarter, dropping from 62.8 to 61.6. While mortgage delinquency rates fell slightly, vacancy rates for rental housing continued to increase in major states, including Georgia, Florida, Michigan and Texas.
Florida highlights for the first quarter include:
• While Florida marks its 13th consecutive quarter in distress, the first quarter of 2011 was the best quarter since the 4th quarter of 2008.
• Florida – Unemployment is 11.5% (compared to national level of 8.9%) and Mortgage delinquency is 9.7% (compared to national level of 8.7%).
2011 First quarter Index data by state:
Q1 2011 Q4 2010 Q3 2010 Q2 2010 Q1 2010
National 68.15% 67.16% 66.38% 66.58% 65.62%
States
Nevada 60.78% 59.47% 59.06% 59.09% 58.27%
Georgia 62.98% 62.70% 62.70% 62.43% 62.18%
Michigan 63.17% 63.21% 62.70% 62.67% 61.57%
Florida 63.55% 63.30% 62.45% 62.66% 61.58%
Arizona 64.08% 63.71% 63.29% 63.24% 61.69%
Tennessee 64.19% 64.09% 64.74% 64.58% 63.93%
Alabama 64.25% 64.78% 64.14% 64.03% 63.21%
Mississippi 64.35% 63.21% 63.07% 64.01% 62.01%
Rhode Island 64.85% 65.94% 64.90% 65.33% 64.27%
South Carolina 65.15% 64.93% 64.67% 64.38% 63.48%
California 65.19% 64.72% 64.37% 63.93% 63.14%
Indiana 65.45% 64.65% 64.38% 64.43% 63.48%
Ohio 65.73% 65.35% 64.73% 64.77% 64.17%
Oregon 65.90% 65.19% 65.19% 64.99% 64.34%
North Carolina 66.01% 65.70% 65.26% 64.96% 63.97%
Kentucky 66.51% 65.87% 65.50% 66.73% 65.98%
Idaho 66.66% 66.56% 65.79% 65.53% 66.13%
Illinois 67.14% 66.84% 66.31% 66.31% 65.38%
West Virginia 67.74% 68.67% 67.91% 67.03% 67.20%
Arkansas 67.94% 67.17% 66.54% 67.09% 66.86%
Missouri 68.32% 67.35% 67.23% 67.35% 66.81%
Washington 68.59% 68.47% 67.86% 68.37% 66.55%
Maine 69.29% 68.72% 68.82% 69.40% 67.84%
Delaware 69.55% 69.46% 69.74% 69.32% 68.39%
Louisiana 69.72% 70.77% 70.28% 70.70% 70.42%
Utah 69.81% 69.53% 68.75% 68.49% 67.64%
New Jersey 69.81% 70.49% 70.39% 70.39% 69.45%
New Mexico 69.93% 69.18% 69.23% 69.16% 68.48%
Colorado 70.33% 70.23% 69.07% 68.97% 68.37%
Texas 70.39% 69.98% 69.93% 70.28% 69.26%
Penn. 70.50% 70.43% 70.22% 70.40% 69.58%
Maryland 70.74% 70.86% 70.43% 70.78% 69.89%
New York 70.87% 71.08% 71.55% 71.73% 69.83%
Connecticut 71.26% 71.81% 72.32% 72.47% 71.24%
Wisconsin 71.61% 71.31% 70.22% 70.20% 69.38%
Mass. 72.04% 71.73% 71.39% 71.36% 70.37%
Oklahoma 72.15% 72.25% 72.01% 71.61% 71.78%
Hawaii 72.45% 72.70% 72.10% 71.71% 69.91%
Montana 72.56% 73.15% 73.01% 72.58% 72.05%
Kansas 72.91% 72.31% 71.86% 72.40% 72.16%
Minnesota 73.55% 72.82% 72.77% 72.19% 71.38%
Virginia 73.97% 72.99% 71.95% 72.60% 71.67%
District of Columbia 74.93% 74.49% 74.82% 75.10% 73.03%
New Hampshire 75.05% 74.48% 73.46% 73.02% 72.03%
Iowa 75.27% 74.85% 73.84% 74.64% 73.35%
Vermont 75.84% 74.91% 75.19% 74.56% 73.33%
Alaska 76.82% 77.04% 75.59% 76.71% 76.24%
Nebraska 78.34% 77.44% 77.01% 78.24% 78.62%
Wyoming 79.15% 77.46% 77.00% 77.65% 76.45%
South
Dakota 81.23% 81.30% 79.99% 80.12% 79.96%
North Dakota 82.35% 82.52% 82.63% 82.88% 82.00%
About the CredAbility Consumer Distress Index
Published quarterly, the CredAbility Consumer Distress Index uses a proprietary methodology that draws upon multiple data sets. Employment, housing, credit, household budget and net worth information is supplemented with data collected by CredAbility, which serves more than 630,000 financially distressed individuals each year.
About CredAbility
CredAbility is one of the leading nonprofit credit counseling and education agencies in the United States, serving clients in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, in both English and Spanish. In addition to providing counseling via telephone and internet, CredAbility operates a network of 28 branch offices across the southeast.
Founded in 1964, CredAbility is a family of Consumer Credit Counseling Service agencies that includes CCCS of Greater Atlanta, CCCS of Central Florida and the Florida Gulf Coast, CCCS of Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast, CCCS of East Tennessee, CCCS of Jackson (Mississippi) and CCCS of Upstate South Carolina.
The nonprofit agency is accredited by the Council on Accreditation and is a member of the Better Business Bureau and the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC). Governed by a community-based board of directors, CredAbility is funded by creditors, clients, individual donors and grants from foundations, businesses and government agencies. Service is provided 24/7 by phone at 800.251.2227 and online at www.CredAbility.org.
i don't about anyone else, but i'm in florida and i don't see any of this. we have MORE foreclosures in our area, i know personally, at least 4 people who have recently lost their long time employment....credibility????? i think all this is very questionable.
WEST PALM BEACH — The financial picture for US households improved in 2011’s first quarter as employment levels rose and consumers continued to better manage their household budgets. And in Florida, while consumers are still experience financial distress, improvements in almost every area led to the best quarter since the 4th quarter of 2008.
This is according to CredAbility, one of the leading nonprofit credit counseling and education agencies in the United States, which today released the CredAbility Consumer Distress Index results for the quarter ending March 31, 2011. The index is a quarterly measure that tracks the financial condition of the average U.S. household. It measures five categories: employment, housing, credit, how families manage household budgets and net worth. A score below 70 indicates a state of financial distress.
US households scored a 68.2on the Index’s 100-point scale, up from 67.2 in the fourth quarter of 2010 and the highest score since the financial crisis intensified in 2008’s third quarter. While the nation remains in financial distress – scoring under 70 for the 10th consecutive quarter – the 68.2 score reflects an increase in full-time and part-time jobs, the smart use of credit and better management of household budgets. On the flip side, the score dropped in the housing category, reflecting minimal improvements in mortgage delinquency rates and rising vacancy rates in apartments and other rental housing.
“The good news is that the full-time labor force grew by more than 540,000 people in the first quarter and consumers with stable incomes have a handle on their credit and household budgets,” said Mark Cole, chief operating officer for CredAbility, and author of the CredAbility Consumer Distress Index. “While the housing category continues to deteriorate, a gain of four points in the index during the past five quarters indicates that the majority of consumers are on the right track.”
The index also measures the financial distress level of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Among individual states, Nevada had the lowest score at 60.8, followed by Georgia, Michigan, Florida and Arizona – all states continuing to suffer from severe unemployment and housing problems. To see a detailed explanation of how the Index works and a national map, go to http://www.CredAbility.org/ConsumerDi.... A link to the Index will also be posted on the CredAbility Twitter account, which can be found at http://twitter.com/CredAbility.
Beginning with 2011’s first quarter, new data has been added to the index’s housing, credit and household budget categories. This change, combined with the creation of a 30-year history of the index, has resulted in revised scores for previous quarters.
National highlights from the first quarter include:
• The score for the Credit category was 82, the highest score since 2007’s second quarter. Credit scores were aided by fewer people filing for bankruptcy, with consumer bankruptcy filings dropping six percent nationwide from the same period in 2010.
• The Employment category jumped four points to 55.7 as unemployment and underemployment fell. The number of people working part-time due to economic reasons fell by 500,000 to 8.4 million. Still, the Employment score in the first quarter was the ninth worst quarter over the past 30 years, according to the index.
• The Household Budget category rose two points to 77, with data showing that Americans have more money remaining in their checkbooks after paying their bills. However, the ability to continue managing budgets will be under pressure if gasoline prices rise or even stabilize. Approximately 19,000 people who received budget counseling from CredAbility in the first quarter reported that each person spent $593 on gasoline during these three months, up 7.6 percent from the same period in 2010.
• The Housing category is the only one of five categories that fell in the first quarter, dropping from 62.8 to 61.6. While mortgage delinquency rates fell slightly, vacancy rates for rental housing continued to increase in major states, including Georgia, Florida, Michigan and Texas.
Florida highlights for the first quarter include:
• While Florida marks its 13th consecutive quarter in distress, the first quarter of 2011 was the best quarter since the 4th quarter of 2008.
• Florida – Unemployment is 11.5% (compared to national level of 8.9%) and Mortgage delinquency is 9.7% (compared to national level of 8.7%).
2011 First quarter Index data by state:
Q1 2011 Q4 2010 Q3 2010 Q2 2010 Q1 2010
National 68.15% 67.16% 66.38% 66.58% 65.62%
States
Nevada 60.78% 59.47% 59.06% 59.09% 58.27%
Georgia 62.98% 62.70% 62.70% 62.43% 62.18%
Michigan 63.17% 63.21% 62.70% 62.67% 61.57%
Florida 63.55% 63.30% 62.45% 62.66% 61.58%
Arizona 64.08% 63.71% 63.29% 63.24% 61.69%
Tennessee 64.19% 64.09% 64.74% 64.58% 63.93%
Alabama 64.25% 64.78% 64.14% 64.03% 63.21%
Mississippi 64.35% 63.21% 63.07% 64.01% 62.01%
Rhode Island 64.85% 65.94% 64.90% 65.33% 64.27%
South Carolina 65.15% 64.93% 64.67% 64.38% 63.48%
California 65.19% 64.72% 64.37% 63.93% 63.14%
Indiana 65.45% 64.65% 64.38% 64.43% 63.48%
Ohio 65.73% 65.35% 64.73% 64.77% 64.17%
Oregon 65.90% 65.19% 65.19% 64.99% 64.34%
North Carolina 66.01% 65.70% 65.26% 64.96% 63.97%
Kentucky 66.51% 65.87% 65.50% 66.73% 65.98%
Idaho 66.66% 66.56% 65.79% 65.53% 66.13%
Illinois 67.14% 66.84% 66.31% 66.31% 65.38%
West Virginia 67.74% 68.67% 67.91% 67.03% 67.20%
Arkansas 67.94% 67.17% 66.54% 67.09% 66.86%
Missouri 68.32% 67.35% 67.23% 67.35% 66.81%
Washington 68.59% 68.47% 67.86% 68.37% 66.55%
Maine 69.29% 68.72% 68.82% 69.40% 67.84%
Delaware 69.55% 69.46% 69.74% 69.32% 68.39%
Louisiana 69.72% 70.77% 70.28% 70.70% 70.42%
Utah 69.81% 69.53% 68.75% 68.49% 67.64%
New Jersey 69.81% 70.49% 70.39% 70.39% 69.45%
New Mexico 69.93% 69.18% 69.23% 69.16% 68.48%
Colorado 70.33% 70.23% 69.07% 68.97% 68.37%
Texas 70.39% 69.98% 69.93% 70.28% 69.26%
Penn. 70.50% 70.43% 70.22% 70.40% 69.58%
Maryland 70.74% 70.86% 70.43% 70.78% 69.89%
New York 70.87% 71.08% 71.55% 71.73% 69.83%
Connecticut 71.26% 71.81% 72.32% 72.47% 71.24%
Wisconsin 71.61% 71.31% 70.22% 70.20% 69.38%
Mass. 72.04% 71.73% 71.39% 71.36% 70.37%
Oklahoma 72.15% 72.25% 72.01% 71.61% 71.78%
Hawaii 72.45% 72.70% 72.10% 71.71% 69.91%
Montana 72.56% 73.15% 73.01% 72.58% 72.05%
Kansas 72.91% 72.31% 71.86% 72.40% 72.16%
Minnesota 73.55% 72.82% 72.77% 72.19% 71.38%
Virginia 73.97% 72.99% 71.95% 72.60% 71.67%
District of Columbia 74.93% 74.49% 74.82% 75.10% 73.03%
New Hampshire 75.05% 74.48% 73.46% 73.02% 72.03%
Iowa 75.27% 74.85% 73.84% 74.64% 73.35%
Vermont 75.84% 74.91% 75.19% 74.56% 73.33%
Alaska 76.82% 77.04% 75.59% 76.71% 76.24%
Nebraska 78.34% 77.44% 77.01% 78.24% 78.62%
Wyoming 79.15% 77.46% 77.00% 77.65% 76.45%
South
Dakota 81.23% 81.30% 79.99% 80.12% 79.96%
North Dakota 82.35% 82.52% 82.63% 82.88% 82.00%
About the CredAbility Consumer Distress Index
Published quarterly, the CredAbility Consumer Distress Index uses a proprietary methodology that draws upon multiple data sets. Employment, housing, credit, household budget and net worth information is supplemented with data collected by CredAbility, which serves more than 630,000 financially distressed individuals each year.
About CredAbility
CredAbility is one of the leading nonprofit credit counseling and education agencies in the United States, serving clients in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, in both English and Spanish. In addition to providing counseling via telephone and internet, CredAbility operates a network of 28 branch offices across the southeast.
Founded in 1964, CredAbility is a family of Consumer Credit Counseling Service agencies that includes CCCS of Greater Atlanta, CCCS of Central Florida and the Florida Gulf Coast, CCCS of Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast, CCCS of East Tennessee, CCCS of Jackson (Mississippi) and CCCS of Upstate South Carolina.
The nonprofit agency is accredited by the Council on Accreditation and is a member of the Better Business Bureau and the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC). Governed by a community-based board of directors, CredAbility is funded by creditors, clients, individual donors and grants from foundations, businesses and government agencies. Service is provided 24/7 by phone at 800.251.2227 and online at www.CredAbility.org.
i don't about anyone else, but i'm in florida and i don't see any of this. we have MORE foreclosures in our area, i know personally, at least 4 people who have recently lost their long time employment....credibility????? i think all this is very questionable.
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