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The low American incomes have boosted consumer confidence this month, proof that economic expansion benefits more workers.
The rise in consumer confidence, which went from 96.2 in August to 100.1 in September, was boosted by the gains of lower-income households, according to the survey's results. University of Michigan.
The sentiment was down slightly from the initial September estimate, but remained at historically high levels, thanks to the Americans' confidence in the current and future state of the economy.
Friday's publication indicated that the confidence of low-income Americans was the highest since 2000.
Meanwhile, the sentiment of high-income households, or incomes in the upper third, has fallen by about 8% in the last seven months.
"This discrepancy between income subgroups has been observed in past economic cycles and indicates that the expansion has now benefited almost all subgroups of the population," said Richard Curtin, chief economist of the investigation.
The recent improvement in the confidence of low-income Americans coincides with a decline in the unemployment rate and faster wage growth for marginalized workers.
A tightening of the labor market should in theory stimulate wages. Recent evidence suggests that this happens for the less educated.
Overall, sentiment has improved significantly since the end of 2016, reinforced by the strength of the economy, including historically low unemployment and stable income gains.
"Consumers have anticipated continued growth in the economy and expected the unemployment rate to continue to decline slowly over the coming year," said Curtin.
Meanwhile, expectations of higher inflation, which had strengthened this year, cooled in September, according to the study.
In September, nearly a third of consumers mentioned the negative impact of tariffs. Americans who expressed negative views on rates also anticipated higher inflation than those who did not.
Write to Sarah Chaney at [email protected]
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