Report: State nearly leads nation in ‘financial distress’

ATLANTA — CredAbility has released the CredAbility Consumer Distress Index results for the 2010 second quarter, and the news is not good for Mississippi.

The index, a quarterly measure that tracks the financial condition of the average U.S. household, finds that high levels of unemployment and the strain of housing costs continue to keep consumers mired in financial distress.

For the quarter ended June 30, American households scored a 65.2 on the index’s 100-point scale, up from 65.0 in the first quarter of 2010, yet still below the score of 66.5 for the same period one year ago. A score below 70 indicates a state of financial distress. The average U.S. consumer has been in financial distress for eight consecutive quarters, according to the Index.

Mississippi scored 60.62, the second-lowest index score in the nation. Only Nevada (59.23) scored lower.

Only nine states, primarily in the upper Midwest and Great Plains, achieved scores above the distress threshold of 70 points.

To see a detailed explanation of how the index works and a national map, go to www.CredAbility.org/ConsumerDistressIndex.