More than half of all Americans say they’ve recently gone a year without dining out, in what may be one of the clearest reflections yet of how the listless economy is restricting choices for consumers.
Only 49.3 percent of adults say they “dined out” between fall 2009 and fall 2010, according to recently released figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. That’s the lowest percentage since 2007, when just 48.7 percent of adults said they had dined out in the past year.
As Seattle Weekly points out, there’s some uncertainty over what “dining out” means. The Census doesn’t define the term for survey participants, and it’s possible many of them interpreted it in a specific way — for example, dinner at a restaurant with table service — when broader definitions exist.
The National Restaurant Association, Seattle Weekly found, counts fast-food restaurants and hot dogs purchased at concerts in the same general “dining out” category as, say, places with a wine list.
Still, the Census results indicate that more than half of all Americans, whether out of necessity or by choice, aren’t indulging in a luxury that the financially comfortable take for granted — findings that track with what is already known about the growing gap between rich and poor in the United States, and the grim financial situations in which millions of people find themselves as the economy continues to founder.
For many people, the extra cash simply isn’t there for something like a meal at a restaurant or a night at the movies. Thanks to unemployment, stagnant incomes and a recession that wiped out millions of dollars in individuals’ net worth, the average American has $1,315 less in disposable income than she did in 2008, meaning that more people have to be careful about prioritizing their spending. According to recent figures, half of all Americans with jobs made less than $27,000 last year, a figure that may not leave much room for treats like a night out.
And for some, not being able to eat at a restaurant is less of a pressing a problem than not having the money to buy groceries.
A recent Gallup poll found that almost one in five Americans struggled to put food on the table in the past year, and another survey published over the summer found that the number of people with access to basic life necessities like food, shelter and medical care — a number that took a hit in 2008, with the onset of the financial crisis — still had not recovered to pre-recession levels.
And in 2010, it was estimated that there were 48.8 million people in America who were hungry or food-insecure — an increase of 12 million, or a full 33 percent, since 2007 — and that the combined social costs of so much hunger added up to $167.5 billion for the year, or $542 for every person in the United States.
2008年爆发的经济危机不仅影响范围广，而且持续时间长。据美国人口调查局近日公布的统计数字显示，从2009年秋到2010年秋，有一半以上的美国人没有到饭店就餐，这可能是经济危机对民众消费最明显的影响之一。
根据这份调查结果，只有49.3%的受访者表示在此期间下过馆子。这是自2007年以来的最低值。不管出于自愿还是无奈，有超过半数的美国人称自己没有过着“奢华的”生活，美国民众之间的贫富差距正在日益扩大，数百万人受到经济衰退的严重影响。
对于很多人来说，目前根本没有额外的钱去下馆子或是看电影。或者因失业、或因实际收入停滞不前，美国民众的平均可支配收入比2008年少1315美元，这就意味着更多的人不得不慎重消费，优先购买更切合实际的商品。最近还有其他统计数据显示，去年美国就业者中有一半人的年收入少于2.7万美元，这个收入不太可能允许他们出去享受一个愉快的夜晚。
盖洛普近期所做的一项调查显示，去年有20%的美国人为填饱肚子苦恼，并且人数比2007年增加了33%。自2007年以来，政府为了使这些人免受饥饿，每年需要投入总计1675亿美元的综合社会成本，平均分摊到每个人身上是542美元。而另一项在夏季公布的民意调查表明，有一大批在2008年受到经济危机影响的人的生活目前还没有恢复到危机之前的水平。
Only 49.3 percent of adults say they “dined out” between fall 2009 and fall 2010, according to recently released figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. That’s the lowest percentage since 2007, when just 48.7 percent of adults said they had dined out in the past year.
As Seattle Weekly points out, there’s some uncertainty over what “dining out” means. The Census doesn’t define the term for survey participants, and it’s possible many of them interpreted it in a specific way — for example, dinner at a restaurant with table service — when broader definitions exist.
The National Restaurant Association, Seattle Weekly found, counts fast-food restaurants and hot dogs purchased at concerts in the same general “dining out” category as, say, places with a wine list.
Still, the Census results indicate that more than half of all Americans, whether out of necessity or by choice, aren’t indulging in a luxury that the financially comfortable take for granted — findings that track with what is already known about the growing gap between rich and poor in the United States, and the grim financial situations in which millions of people find themselves as the economy continues to founder.
For many people, the extra cash simply isn’t there for something like a meal at a restaurant or a night at the movies. Thanks to unemployment, stagnant incomes and a recession that wiped out millions of dollars in individuals’ net worth, the average American has $1,315 less in disposable income than she did in 2008, meaning that more people have to be careful about prioritizing their spending. According to recent figures, half of all Americans with jobs made less than $27,000 last year, a figure that may not leave much room for treats like a night out.
And for some, not being able to eat at a restaurant is less of a pressing a problem than not having the money to buy groceries.
A recent Gallup poll found that almost one in five Americans struggled to put food on the table in the past year, and another survey published over the summer found that the number of people with access to basic life necessities like food, shelter and medical care — a number that took a hit in 2008, with the onset of the financial crisis — still had not recovered to pre-recession levels.
And in 2010, it was estimated that there were 48.8 million people in America who were hungry or food-insecure — an increase of 12 million, or a full 33 percent, since 2007 — and that the combined social costs of so much hunger added up to $167.5 billion for the year, or $542 for every person in the United States.
2008年爆发的经济危机不仅影响范围广，而且持续时间长。据美国人口调查局近日公布的统计数字显示，从2009年秋到2010年秋，有一半以上的美国人没有到饭店就餐，这可能是经济危机对民众消费最明显的影响之一。
根据这份调查结果，只有49.3%的受访者表示在此期间下过馆子。这是自2007年以来的最低值。不管出于自愿还是无奈，有超过半数的美国人称自己没有过着“奢华的”生活，美国民众之间的贫富差距正在日益扩大，数百万人受到经济衰退的严重影响。
对于很多人来说，目前根本没有额外的钱去下馆子或是看电影。或者因失业、或因实际收入停滞不前，美国民众的平均可支配收入比2008年少1315美元，这就意味着更多的人不得不慎重消费，优先购买更切合实际的商品。最近还有其他统计数据显示，去年美国就业者中有一半人的年收入少于2.7万美元，这个收入不太可能允许他们出去享受一个愉快的夜晚。
盖洛普近期所做的一项调查显示，去年有20%的美国人为填饱肚子苦恼，并且人数比2007年增加了33%。自2007年以来，政府为了使这些人免受饥饿，每年需要投入总计1675亿美元的综合社会成本，平均分摊到每个人身上是542美元。而另一项在夏季公布的民意调查表明，有一大批在2008年受到经济危机影响的人的生活目前还没有恢复到危机之前的水平。
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