Providers and Administrators in blue logo
MenuMENU
SearchSEARCH

Americans Concerned About Interest Rate Hikes, Mark Volatility, Survey Shows

March 8, 2016
3 min to read


BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — The Federal Reserve’s recent interest rate hike and a rocky start to the year in global financial markets is hurting consumer confidence, according to a new survey. It showed that, on average, Americans believe there is a 36% chance the U.S. economy will fall into a recession this year.


The COUNTRY Financial Security Index, a survey of 1,000 American adults on personal financial security topics, revealed that many Americans are feeling uncertain about the state of the economy. They are unsure how the recent interest rate hike — as well as potential future increases — will influence both the economy and their personal finances.

Ad Loading...


This wariness comes on the heels of a slight dip in the most recent measure of overall financial security by COUNTRY Financial in December 2015. After reaching post-recession highs in June 2015, the Financial Security Index dipped from 66.9 to 66.6 following months of financial market volatility and interest rate uncertainty.


“While the Federal Reserve has taken its first steps in normalizing U.S. monetary policy, future rate hikes will be measured,” said Troy Frerichs, director of wealth management at COUNTRY Financial. “Right now we don’t view U.S. monetary policy as a major headwind for the U.S. economy in 2016. Despite the rocky start to the year in the financial markets, the U.S. economy continues to grow with strong support from the labor markets and low energy prices.”


Less than 20% of consumers surveyed believe raising interest rates in 2016 will help the U.S. economy, while even fewer (11%) believe it will benefit them personally. In contrast, many Americans have a negative outlook on interest rate increases, but an even larger group doesn’t know what to expect:

  • 31% of Americans report that they “don’t know” what the Federal Reserve’s actions on interest rates will do to the economy

  • Nearly one in four (23 percent) don’t know how slowly raising interest rates will impact their personal financial situation

“While the Fed usually begins to raise short-term interest rates to keep the economy from overheating, the economy, in this instance, isn’t showing signs of excess and this is more of a normalization process of historically low rates,” said Frerichs. “Initially consumers won’t be deterred from buying homes or cars simply because of this initial rate hike. Financing costs are still very low.”

Ad Loading...


When the Federal Reserve increased interest rates at its December 2015 meeting, it was the first exposure to an interest rate increase for many millennials. According to COUNTRY Financial, 40% of millennials are unsure how rising rates will impact the economy and 32% do not know how rising rates will influence their own financial situation.


However, more than half of millennials believe that the likelihood of rising interest rates will matter when it comes to making major purchases, such as buying a car or home.


“The initial rate hike was more important for headlines than for the health of the economy, and the economy will need to continue to show improvement for the Fed to keep raising interest rates,” Frerichs noted. “A strong economy should buffer concerns about rising interest rates, especially given the current levels of interest rates.”

More Industry

F&Iby Lauren LawrenceFebruary 25, 2026

Report Finds Year-End F&I Strength

Deal volume ebbed and flowed throughout 2025, but product performance remained steady, according to automotive technology and data intelligence solutions provider StoneEagle.

Read More →
Industryby Lauren LawrenceFebruary 24, 2026

China Leads Battery Production

Between 2020 and 2025, gigafactory capacity grew six-fold and is set to grow another 118% by 2030, according Benchmark data.

Read More →
Industryby Hannah MitchellFebruary 24, 2026

Overall Consumer Confidence Up

Americans’ view of present business conditions, the labor market and family finances, though, are still in the dumps, and if they plan to buy cars, many target used units.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Auto Financeby Lauren LawrenceFebruary 23, 2026

Auto Loan Forecast Bucks Market Trend

Auto loan originations rose over 6% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2025, but TransUnion predicts a slight decline in auto loan growth this year, making it an outlier in the company's overall lending forecast.

Read More →
F&Iby Hannah MitchellFebruary 23, 2026

Some Auto Brands Cheaper to Insure

A new top 10 list ranks the least expensive for average full insurance coverage on a clean driving record and high driver credit scores.

Read More →
Industryby StaffFebruary 20, 2026

Learn to Manage the Mayhem at Agent Summit

Rob Mancuso – president of Mancuso Automotive – will present a Keynote at the 2026 event.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Industryby Lauren LawrenceFebruary 19, 2026

Affordability Leads Top-Rated List

Edmunds’ editorial team tested 300-plus vehicles to help determine the Top Rated Awards for 2026, and one brand stood out with multiple rankings, including Best of the Best.

Read More →
Salesby Hannah MitchellFebruary 19, 2026

Auto Sales Still Sluggish

February forecast has new-vehicle deliveries still off from last year at this time amid high prices and vanished EV incentives. But J.D. Power sees business picking up from here as automakers target growth.

Read More →
Industryby Hannah MitchellFebruary 18, 2026

EVs Bring Most Satisfaction to Date

Study finds that adopters are true believers and that their satisfaction with the vehicles is growing, including for public charger experience, despite pullback of federal incentives.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Industryby Lauren LawrenceFebruary 17, 2026

Auto Manufacturing Drives Economic Growth

The sector generates over $64 billion in annual economic impact in South Carolina, making it the largest and fastest-growing manufacturing subsector in the state.

Read More →