FinancialAdvisor's College Class (FACC)

[FinancialAdvisor]

Workers say they're falling behind-survey

Workers say they're falling behind-survey
Tuesday August 30, 1:30 am ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. workers are dissatisfied with the current economy and fear their standard of living is declining, according to a survey released on Tuesday by the AFL-CIO.

Some 53 percent of the 805 workers surveyed said their income is not keeping up with rising health care and gasoline prices, and 70 percent said employers aren't giving them raises to keep up with the higher costs, the labor organization found.

Forty-three percent said they felt hopeful and confident about achieving their financial goals, down from 70 percent in 1999, the AFL-CIO said, while 54 percent said they were concerned they might not meet those goals.

The survey, conducted from Aug. 12 to Aug. 17, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.

Health care was a leading source of dissatisfaction, and the AFL-CIO said concern had risen again to the level seen in 1994 when President Bill Clinton's proposed reforms failed.

Two-thirds of those surveyed said they are dissatisfied with the health care system in the United States, and a similar portion said they worried about rising costs.

Among those who had health insurance, 31 percent said they thought their employer passed on too many of the costs, up sharply from the 16 percent who said so in 1999.

Some 72 percent said they would like to see the government guarantee health care coverage for all Americans.


LINK: http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/050830/labor_survey.html?.v=1