Americans’ savings rate falls to lowest level since 2022 as inflation outpaces paychecks

Abraham Gonzalez Fernandez | Moment | Getty Images Americans are saving less as the everyday cost of living rises and wages struggle to keep up. The personal savings rate — defined as the share of income Americans have after taxes and expenses — hit 2.6% in April, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis released on Thursday. That's down from 3.2% in March, and 5.8% a year prior. "I thought 2.6% for April was a typo at first. It is so low," Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, said in an email. "Outside of the revenge spend era of 2022, the personal savings rate has almost never been this low in the past 65 years." The April reading marks the lowest the savings rate has fallen since it hit 2.2% in June 2022 amid record-high inflation , along with Americans having "flush bank accounts" from pandemic stimulus payments and being "eager to spend as the nation opened up again," Long said.