It has been relatively well-documented that consumers in the United States did spend 2022 dealing with rampant inflation. And the last 12 months also saw many people depleting their savings accounts- while racking up multiple scores of credit card debt that would allow them to cope with higher costs of living. What made the previous year even more difficult was that while the inflation was peaking, there were no federal stimulus check payments on which the consumers could fall back. The last round of federal stimulus payments that the citizens saw came in the March of 2021 before the levels of inflation had actually started rising.
Stimulus Check Payments From the Federal Government Might Still Be A Dream
Interestingly, there is a reason why the federal government actually didn’t issue any more stimulus check payments this year- it hadn’t needed to do so. And while that could definitely change in 2023, it will be dependent on one key number. Back in the March of 2021, the unemployment rate throughout the country was around 6%.
Of course, the legislators put all their focus on stimulus aid through the American Rescue Plan before that data was released broadly. Goes without saying, the jobless rate in the February of 2021 was just a notch above 6.2%. By comparison, in February 2020, just before the pandemic took place, the rate of unemployment stood at around 3.5%. Once the pandemic hit, the rate of unemployment soared to 14.7%.
Nevertheless, one should not be expecting a stimulus check payment this year even if the economic conditions start worsening in 2023. Unless the nation sees a massive jump in the national rate of unemployment, legislators will be staving off any and all efforts on issuing stimulus funds.
