But with the Fed aiming to bring down inflation to itspercent, it may continue to hike rates to meet that goal. That could come at a price.
"Thanks to still-rising interest rates, stubborn inflation and myriad other economic factors, credit card balances are likely only going to climb, at least in the near future," Schulz said. Meanwhile, households are noticing that access to credit has been a struggle compared to a year ago, a trend they will likely see continue going forward.
"Expectations for future credit availability also deteriorated in August, with the share of respondents expecting it will be harder to obtain credit in the year ahead increasing," the New York FedOverall,"households' perceptions about their current financial situations and expectations for the future also deteriorated."
Working people's—those with a high school education and earn below $50,000 a year— fears over losing their jobs were at its highest level since April of 2021, the New York Fed saw in its survey. That feeling was also accompanied by declining optimism about finding a new job, the analysis showed.