THE UNEMPLOYED - Personal Income, Finance Facts, and Consumer Credit (March 1977)

Sep 21, 2026

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Unemployment trends are analyzed alongside household economic shifts, showing joblessness moving beyond traditional low-income groups into middle and higher income brackets. The document reports near-record employment levels since early 1975, highlights changes in labor force composition, and contrasts unemployment rates across genders, races, and age groups. It also details consumer finance updates: personal income changes in December and 1976, installment credit outstanding by holder and credit type, leading indicators, consumer buying plans, optimism measures, and the January employment situation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

PERSONAL INCOME

FINANCE FACTS

Consumer Installment CreditOutstanding

Consumer Expectations

INDEX OF LEADING INDICATORS

CONSUMER BUYING PLANS

EMPLOYMENT SITUATION

NONFARM PERSONAL INCOME

Any or all the material in this publication may he quoted or reproduced. THE UNEMPLOYED Important shifts in social-economic structure of unemployment have beenoccurring over the years.Unemployment,which was once primarily apoor man's burden,has moved into middle and better-than-middle in-come brackets,reports The Conference Board.In 1958,almost half ofall married men without jobs were heads of families with incomes ofless than $7,000 the year before.Now,about 30%of males in that familyearning bracket are jobless.In the late Fifties,close to 7%of all unem-ployed married men were from $15,000-and-over bracket,but now thefigure is around 25%.The shifts in unemployment reflect the fact thatpresently,larger numbers of families are in affluent earning bracketsthan in the past,and account for larger proportion of jobless. The actual number of persons now employed is at near-record levels,andexcept for month-to-month fuctuations,has been growing since early1975.Almost three-fifths of expansion of labor force over past twodecades is accounted for by women.With changes in composition oflabor force,there are also changes in composition of the unemployedpopulation.Joblessness among blacks is almost twice that of whites.For women,unemployment ratio exceeds 9%,for men it is less than 7%一for young white males the ratio exceeds 14%,for young black malesalmost 25%.Young people account for a very substantial proportion ofjobless population.Those under 25 years,male and female,account forsome three-quarters of total increase in number of jobless. # PERSONAL INCOME Personal income increased $19.3 billion in December to a seasonally ad-justed annual rate of $1,440.7 billion,according to the U.S.Departmentof Commerce.Revised data show that personal income increased $17.2billion in November,and wage and salary disbursements increased $8.8billion in December,compared with $10.2 billion in November.Servicesindustry payrolls increased $3.1 billion,government payrolls and gov-ernment enterprises increased $1.1 billion.Transfer payments increased $0.8 billion in December. For the year 1976,personal income amounted to $1,375.4 billion,an in-crease of $125.7 billion or 10.1%over 1975.In 1975 personal incomeincreased $96.4 billion or 8.4%.Wage and salary disbursements in-creased $83.7 billion or 10.4%in 1976.Transfer payments increased$16.1 bllion or 9.2%in 1976. # FINANCE FACTS A Monthly Publication on Consumer Financial Behavior MARCH 1977 Unemployment by IncomeDistribution ot Unemployed Family Headsby Family Income(Based on 1974 dollars). # Consumer Installment CreditOutstanding ## Consumer Expectations CONSUMER CREDIT Total consumer instalment credit at end December 1976 was $178.8 bil-lion.According to revised Federal Reserve credit categories by holder,$85.4 billion was outstanding at commercial banks,$39.6 billion atfinance companies,串34.6 billion at other financial lenders,and $19.2billion at retail outlets. According to revised credit categories by type,$60.5 billion was out-standing in automobile credit,$11.5 billion in mobile home credit,$8.8billion in home improvement credit,$14.1 billion in revolving credit,and $83.9 billion in all other credit(now consisting of other consumergoods plus personal loans). Net increase in installment credit outstanding by holder since December1975 amounted to $16.5 billionThis increase was concentrated atcommercial banks up $6.7 billion,other financial lenders up$5.7 billion,and finance companies up $2.9 billion. ## INDEX OF LEADING INDICATORS The composite index of leading indicators increased 1.6%in Decemberand now stands at 129.8(1967=100),according to preliminary data.Eight of eleven indicators now available for December showed in-creases from November(layoff rate,change in total liquid assets,change in sensitive prices,contracts and orders for plant and equipmentin 1972 dollars,net business formation,stock prices,money balance in1972 dollars,and new orders in 1972 dollars).Two

FAQs

What economic shift does the document describe regarding unemployment by income level?

It describes unemployment moving from being primarily a burden of poorer households to also affecting middle and better-than-middle income brackets over time.

How does the document report changes in personal income in December and across 1976?

Personal income increased in December and the document provides revised figures for November, along with year-level totals for 1976 and growth amounts compared with 1975.

What information is given about consumer installment credit at the end of December 1976?

It states total consumer installment credit outstanding and breaks it down by holder (e.g., commercial banks, finance companies, other lenders, retail outlets) and by credit type (e.g., automobile, mobile home, home improvement, revolving credit).

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Skyler