Half of Americans Are Two Paychecks Away from Hardship

The eroding labor market is expected to trigger additional pain for banks as job losses undercut consumers' ability to make their mortgage payments.

With unemployment on the march, Julia Rodgers, a mortgage advisor with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, told me last week that homeowners should have at least three months of mortgage payments saved up to protect themselves from a job loss. But a recent study by MetLife indicates that consumers don't have nearly enough of a financial cushion to keep them afloat should a job loss occur.

From the report:

Many Employees Are Just Two Paychecks Away from Serious Financial Hardship

With the number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits in early February 2009 at its highest rate since 1982 (Source: U.S. Department of Labor), few have cash reserves on hand to cover monthly expenses in the event of a job loss. Equally few have an adequate safety net to cover lost income or household emergencies. In this environment, work — and the paycheck and benefits associated with it — is propping up the American dream.

The fear of job loss by 56% of Americans, combined with the fact that many believe that they are working harder than ever simply to get by, is having a significant impact on how Americans view the dream. In the past, job mobility was key to maintaining (or strengthening) income to meet consistently rising basic needs. Most Americans believed they would change jobs more times in their life than their parents did. Today, job stability is the key.

With the erosion of social and corporate safety nets, tightening credit and declining home equity, most Americans have little financial cushioning to survive a job loss. Without a steady paycheck, 50% of Americans say they could not meet their financial obligations for more than a month — and, of that, a disturbing 28% couldn’t support themselves for more than two weeks of unemployment.