Size of US middle class shrinks: media

NEW YORK -- The golden era for the middle class in the United States has been dwindling since before the pandemic, said US business magazine Fortune recently.

In mid-October, the average wealth of the U.S. middle class had dropped by 7 percent from March -- the biggest decrease since the 2008 global financial crisis, Fortune cited Berkeley's economists as saying.

In 1971, 61 percent of US adults were considered middle class, but the figure dropped to just 50 percent in 2021, according to an analysis from Pew Research Center.

The Fortune report said it's the result of rising living costs.