36% Delaying or Canceling Major Purchases
One in Three Workers Has No Emergency Savings
More than one-third of American workers are delaying or canceling major purchases because of growing concerns about job security, according to a new survey.
A recent poll released by Redfin found that 36% of workers have postponed or canceled major purchases such as homes or cars due to worries about employment stability.
Among those respondents, 30% said they delayed purchases, while 7% said they canceled plans altogether.
By comparison, only 16% said they made purchases sooner than planned, while 17% said they were considering accelerating purchases.
The survey was conducted in March among 1,005 adults nationwide. Although the share of workers delaying spending due to job concerns declined slightly from 42% in a similar survey conducted last August, the figure remains elevated.
About 69% of workers said they feel “somewhat” or “very” confident about their job security, but 27% reported feeling anxious about their employment situation. Additionally, 32% said their concerns about job stability have increased compared with six months ago.
Workers cited company performance as the biggest source of concern at 29%, followed by the impact of artificial intelligence at 18%, government downsizing at 14%, and personal work performance at 12%.
Housing costs are also placing increasing pressure on household finances.
The survey found that 7% of respondents had missed rent or mortgage payments within the past three months, while another 10% said they had made late payments. Among workers who reported job insecurity, 28% said they had struggled to make housing payments on time.
Looking ahead, 15% said they believe they could fall behind on housing payments within the next three months, while 13% said they may miss payments entirely.
Only 55% of workers said they currently have emergency savings set aside to cover housing costs. Meanwhile, 34% reported having no emergency savings at all. Among those with savings, about 20% said they could cover six months of expenses, while 16% said they could manage roughly three months of living costs.
