Take Five: U.S. debt, financial stress, and AI’s growing role in the workplace

NH Business Review's biweekly snapshot of business and industry statistics

A recent Pew Research Center analysis found that the nation’s debt is larger than its economy. Gross domestic product (GDP) was $30.3 trillion at the end of Q2 2025, according to the latest estimate by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Meaning the country’s debt, which stood at $36.2 trillion at the end of Q2, was 119.4% of GDP. Private investors own about $24.4 trillion of the national debt as of March 2025 — the rest is held in various federal trust funds and retirement programs ($7.3 trillion, or 20.1%) or by the Federal Reserve System ($4.6 trillion, or 12.6%).

The Financial Insecurity Study conducted by WalletHub highlights that 69% of Americans feel insecure about their finances, with 63% saying the U.S. government’s debt levels makes them feel more insecure. In addition, one in four Americans say they feel more financially secure when they have multiple income streams.

The FINRA Investor Education Foundation released its National Financial Capability Study, a source of data and insights about the financial lives of more than 25,000 U.S. adults. A key finding was that 45% of New Hampshire’s residents did not find it at all difficult to pay bills, comparable to the nation’s 44%. However, 27% of NH residents have unpaid medical bills, and 25% experienced a large, unexpected drop in income within the past year.

Federal Trade Commission data shows that nearly one-quarter (23.2%) of targeted residents aged 60 to 69 in New Hampshire have lost funds due to scams this year so far. This age group has filed 311 fraud reports in Q1 2025, resulting in a per-person loss of $351. The most prevalent scams affecting seniors are business and government imposters and online shopping.

Resume Builder surveyed 1,342 U.S. managers and found that 6 in 10 managers rely on AI to make decisions about their direct reports, including raises (78%), promotions (77%), layoffs (66%) and terminations (64%). The survey also found that two-thirds of managers haven’t received AI training, and nearly half of managers were tasked with assessing if AI can replace their reports.