GEOFF BENNETT: Today's latest jobs report is further evidence that the labor market has been resilient and often stronger than expected.
That was also part of the president's message during last night's State of the Union address.
But many Americans don't feel like the economy overall is strong or helping them or their families.
Several polls have shown this, including one from The New York Times this week that found that 51 percent of Americans think the country's economic situation is bad right now.
So why the separation?
Business correspondent Paul Solman explains.
SETH READ, ESL teacher: I think if you talk to the average person on the street, they'll say the economy isn't doing well.
And I tend to agree.
PAUL SOLMAN: Seth Read is a teacher in Northern Virginia.
SETH READ: I'm doing well, but I'm still living paycheck to paycheck.
PAUL SOLMAN: Alyssa Gonzalez is co-owner of Treehouse Cyclery in Denver.
ALYSSA GONZALEZ, co-owner of Treehouse Cyclery: I've come to accept more of a realistic view of the world where things aren't getting better.
Nonprofit Executive Director Erik Hicks put it most succinctly.
ERIK HICKS, CEO-Integrator, Metro Caring: I'm not feeling well.
PAUL SOLMAN: But how can people feel so bad and even tell pollsters that the economy is doing so well, unemployment is low and inflation is slowing?
KYLA SCANLON, author, video artist: I publish these social media videos every day, TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts.
PAUL SOLMAN: Kyla Scanlon is an author, social media personality and demystifier of economics.
KYLA SCANLON: There are hundreds of comments every day telling me how people perceive the economy because I'm making a video about inflation going down and the market being OK. And people said, no, I feel really bad.
PAUL SOLMAN: The words she coined to describe what she heard: vibecession.
KYLA SCANLON: The vibecession is the idea of a disconnect between consumer sentiment and economic data and why people feel bad about the economy even though the economic metrics tell them the economy is doing well. PAUL SOLMAN: In fact, the consumer sentiment index has improved noticeably, says economist Justin Wolfers.
JUSTIN WOLFERS, University of Michigan: People seem a little more willing to admit that this long nightmare of post-pandemic recession and hard times and recovery is actually behind us, and people seem a little more willing to admit that Things are going well. PAUL SOLMAN: But many Americans say they remain dissatisfied with the economy.
Why the separation?
Well, for many people the main reason is that prices are still higher than before Corona.
Seth Read used to shop at Safeway right next to his apartment.
Now he goes to Aldi to buy cheaper groceries.
SETH READ: Everything is getting more expensive.
PAUL SOLMAN: However, lower inflation does not mean lower prices.
That just means prices are rising more slowly than before, Scanlon explains.
KYLA SCANLON: If you think that falling inflation means that prices are going down, you're going to be very confused when you go to the store and your box of cereal isn't cheaper.
You mean, but I heard in the media that inflation is falling.
What's up?
PAUL SOLMAN: Well, grain prices haven't changed much over the past year, but they've risen more than 25 percent during the pandemic and are still not back to pre-COVID-19 levels.
The same goes for eggs, which have nearly tripled, but at today's average of $2.50 per dozen, are still almost double what they were before COVID.
Alyssa Gonzalez is now looking for cheaper items.
ALYSSA GONZALEZ: A lot more canned, boxed foods, just like 12 packs of ramen noodles because it serves its purpose.
PAUL SOLMAN: And the food manufacturers themselves have driven prices higher than their costs, Scanlon says.
KYLA SCANLON: There are companies out there that just raise prices, and that's what they'll tell you.
In their earnings reports they say: Yes, we will increase our profits.
PAUL SOLMAN: This is what's called greed inflation, where companies take advantage of consumers' expectations that prices will continue to rise.
And why shouldn't they?
KYLA SCANLON: Well, well, they will.
They are companies.
That's their goal: to make a lot of money.
PAUL SOLMAN: And then there's shrinkflation, where companies charge the same thing for a smaller amount.
Here are recent examples reported by the website Consumer World.
SETH READ: You get less and pay more.
The small depression at the bottom of sauce containers keeps getting bigger.
So you get less sauce.
And it's just – honestly, kind of ridiculous.
PAUL SOLMAN: There is one group that is particularly sensitive to food prices, namely the least well-off, who spend a larger portion of their budgets on food.
ERIK HICKS: They can't make ends meet.
PAUL SOLMAN: Erik Hicks runs a food bank in the Denver area.
ERIK HICKS: The community and members who come to receive services are unable to pay the rising prices of food, nutrition and other resources.
PAUL SOLMAN: And get this.
During the pandemic, the price of cheaper food rose twice as much as premium food.
But for Scanlon, the real killer is housing.
Real estate prices have gone up, as have mortgage rates and people's rents.
KYLA SCANLON: So if you tell them that things are getting cheaper, but their rent isn't getting cheaper and their food isn't getting cheaper, of course they're going to feel bad.
ALYSSA GONZALEZ: It feels a little daunting knowing that I'll be renting for a while and the rental prices are increasing so much every year.
PAUL SOLMAN: For Alyssa Gonzalez, home ownership is out of the question.
ALYSSA GONZALEZ: I don't think I can buy a house.
It's something I just accepted.
PAUL SOLMAN: So many are facing additional financial stress with the end of COVID controls and higher borrowing costs.
And then there's the renewal of student debt payments.
Gonzalez is worth over $100,000.
ALYSSA GONZALEZ: When I factor that into my normal bills of almost $2,000 a month just for rent, then groceries and all the other things, it's just not feasible.
PAUL SOLMAN: It's not possible for Gonzalez to pay off her student loans.
ALYSSA GONZALEZ: It sucks because I can never pay back this debt.
And it's one of the things that impacts my credit and my existence as a business owner and just being able to apply for loans, get cars, things like that.
It feels kind of unsolvable, but it's such a big problem that I feel like I can't do anything about it.
PAUL SOLMAN: Even yuppies are doing worse than they did during COVID-19.
BRETT MEAD, attorney: The yuppie lifestyle subsidy was in full swing.
Ubers were cheap, Airbnbs were cheap, food delivery apps were cheap.
PAUL SOLMAN: But not anymore.
Brett Mead's Yuppy colleagues are doing comparatively worse.
BRETT MEAD: I think they have a negative view of the economy, partly because their cost of living has gone up.
However, economist Wolfers believes that the pessimism reflected in some surveys is due to something else.
JUSTIN WOLFERS: The way people answer these public opinion poll questions has fundamentally changed.
What they do rather than say: Well, here are the newspaper articles I read and here is what I see around me. You think: Is my team winning right now, are they Republicans or Democrats?
Those who reliably lean Republican now were more optimistic under Trump and incredibly pessimistic under Biden, and Democrats are the opposite.
In my opinion, this tells us less about the reality of the economy and more about how partisan and polarized views have become.
PAUL SOLMAN: Still, the economic reality for Seth Read, at least compared to that of his parents at his age, is something of a disappointment.
SETH READ: They had a house.
They had two cars.
They had stable incomes.
They were definitely a lot more stable than I feel.
Rising child care costs are the main reason my fiancée and I haven't even considered having children in the near future.
PAUL SOLMAN: So perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise that the economy is statistically good for many, but for quite a few Americans, economic sentiment is poor.
For the “PBS NewsHour” Paul Solman.
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