The US economy's safety net is bigger than anyone thought

Wed, 10/11/2023 - 06:06

woman inserts ATM card into ATM machine to take out money — While not common, some savings accounts offer a debit card or ATM card so you can have direct access to your account.
Milan Markovic/Getty Images

Americans' excess household savings are much higher than previously thought.
Some economists are estimating Americans have $1.2 trillion more saved up than before the pandemic.
This could be good news for an economy still trying to bring inflation down.

Revised government data from the end of September show that the amount of money Americans have saved up relative to pre-pandemic savings is billions of dollars higher than previously thought.