The Economic Security Index shows that economic insecurity disproportionately affects the less advantaged, but has risen substantially for all Americans.
African-American female
Age 32
As you can see, the ESI shows a significant increase in financial insecurity for this demographic group over the past two decades.
A revealing new economic indicator
The discussion of economic security has been hampered by the lack of a simple measure that allows for the comparison of economic security over time and across Americans of different circumstances.
The ESI fills this gap. It provides a simple measure of the joint occurrence of three major risks to economic well-being:
Experiencing a major loss in income
Incurring large out-of-pocket medical expenses, and
Lacking adequate financial wealth to buffer the first two risks
Uniquely, the ESI tracks all these elements – major income loss, uncovered medical expense, and inadequate assets – within a single measure.
