In its latest Survey of Consumer Expectations, the bank said Monday that respondents’ median expectation of losing their job over the next year rose to a series high of 20.9%, up from 18.5% last month.
At the same time, just under 40% of survey respondents said their personal finances were worse off now than relative to a year ago, up from 30.2% who held that view in March. Of those polled, 31.6% foresaw being worse off financially a year from now, up from the 27.8% the prior month.
Meanwhile, expected earnings growth hit a record low for the New York Fed report, at a projected increase of 1.8%, down from 2% in March. The report said that income growth over the next 12 months also hit a record low at an expected 1.9% rise. The bank said that 21.9% of respondents project their incomes will outright fall over the coming year.
Households are also getting more worried about their ability to borrow, with 48% of respondents reporting credit access was harder to get in April, up from the 32% who held that view in March. Just under half of those polled expected credit will be harder to find a year from now, the report said.
The New York Fed report arrives amid a storm of dreadful data. On Friday the government reported that the unemployment rate hit 14.7% in April, the highest level ever in the post-World War II era, and growth data for the second quarter is widely expected to show a historic contraction.
Last week, several Fed officials said the economy is in for substantial pain, even as they still expect to avoid a replay of the Great Depression. As part of its response, the central bank has cut its rate target to near zero and said it would stay there until the economy is in recovery, amid other actions to support financial markets and to boost the level of credit that is available to the economy.