New National Survey: Poor Economic Conditions Hurting Community Improvement

ST. LOUIS – A new national survey of people and organizations in low- to moderate-income communities indicates that poor economic conditions are hampering improvement, led by housing and personal finance difficulties.

Respondents to The Community Perspectives Survey: Insights from the Field gave slightly more positive ratings on employment and education due to people’s ability to find work and the strong uptake of adult education programs.

“Respondents were relatively optimistic about the future, except as it related to housing, personal finance and human services. Continued challenges in these areas suggest that overall conditions for economic mobility in low- to moderate-income (LMI) communities will likely remain poor over the next year,” said report co-author Nishesh Chalise, senior manager of community development at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

The survey of 937 representatives of organizations serving low- to moderate-income communities was conducted in April by the Federal Reserve and four national partners. 

Other findings include:

• Housing: Conditions for housing, particularly rental housing, were rated the worst among the areas addressed in the survey, and very few respondents expected any positive changes in housing conditions over the coming year.
• Personal finance: LMI populations respondents or service providers reported poor financial stability, which they did not expect to improve mostly due to income not keeping up with the cost of living.
• Small business: Despite identifying high interest rates as a challenge, small business respondents were generally optimistic about prospects for the coming year due to availability of grants and technical assistance in addition to some softening in the labor market.
• Health: Most survey respondents rated health conditions and access to health care as poor, with insurance coverage and mental health needs as the main challenges.
• Education: Respondents saw a strong uptake of skill and credential programs for adults, and they expected conditions for adult education to continue to improve. On the other hand, conditions for pre-K through 12th grade education were considered poor, and respondents had mixed expectations for the year ahead largely due to continued challenges in teacher hiring and retention and student absences.
• Human services and emergency assistance: Half of respondents noted conditions were poor, with a large fraction expecting conditions to worsen over the next year. Negative factors associated with housing and mental health care were mentioned as overwhelming service providers.
• Internet and technology: While over one-third of respondents said internet access was poor, most indicated that it has been improving, and they expected it to continue improving over the next year. Nevertheless, the discontinuation of the federal Affordable Connectivity Program is expected to contribute substantially to the loss of internet access for LMI populations.

To read more in-depth results of the survey, visit the Fed Communities website.

About Federal Reserve Community Development  

The Federal Reserve seeks to promote the economic resilience and mobility of individuals and communities throughout the US, including low- and moderate-income and underserved households. Increasing economic opportunity is not only good for individuals and communities but also vital to the overall economy.