American families shored up their savings substantially between 2016 and 2019, according to Federal Reserve data released on Monday, but wealth inequality remained stubbornly high — and that was before the coronavirus pandemic took hold. Median net worth climbed by 18 percent in those three years, the Fed’s Survey of Consumer Finances showed, as median family income increased by 5 percent. The survey, which began in 1989, is released every three years and is the gold standard in data about the financial circumstances of households. Nearly all of the data in the 2019 survey were collected before the onset of the coronavirus. Inequality appears to be poised to widen as lower earners fare the worst.

Source: New York Times September 28, 2020 16:01 UTC