Washington | US household wealth hit an all-time high in the second quarter as their bank accounts were inflated by federal government aid in the face of the COVID-19 crisis, according to a study released Monday by the US Federal Reserve.
The total wealth of US households and nonprofits reached nearly $ 119 trillion between April and June. This is the highest level ever recorded.
This is slightly higher than the previous record of just over $ 118 trillion recorded in the last quarter of 2019, when the United States economy was at its best, after ten years of growth.
But the Covid-19 pandemic, which affected the country from March and forced the authorities to put in place containment measures, had brought it down to $ 111 trillion in the first quarter.
As a result, US household debt rose more slowly between April and June, + 0.5% year-on-year, than between January and March, when it climbed 3.8%.
However, the situation could be less flourishing in the third quarter. The finances of the Americans are, in fact, undermined, the aid checks having already been paid, and the aid gradually expiring since the beginning of August.
In addition, some unemployed people are no longer entitled to unemployment benefits after six months of uninterrupted assistance and millions of people have not yet found a job.
The White House and elected officials of Congress, who have been discussing for nearly two months, are unable to agree on a new economic aid plan.
As for companies, which had to deal with business interruptions, and a sometimes partial or slow recovery, their debt increased by 14% year-on-year, slowing down a bit compared to the first quarter, when it had exploded, increasing by 18.4%.
By comparison, their debt had grown at a maximum of 7.1% per annum in the last ten years.
The US federal government has spent millions of billions of dollars since the end of March to help households and businesses cope with the consequences of this unprecedented crisis.
Its debt jumped 58.9% in the second quarter, after having already climbed 11.4% in the first quarter. It had increased by 6.7% in 2019.