Press release
New analysis from Principal® reveals employer support for financial inclusion differs by job sector
Global Financial Inclusion Index shows opportunity for greater employer support across industries, as well as among smaller businesses DES MOINES,
About this update from Principal Financial Group Inc
[{"type":"text","content":"\nGlobal Financial Inclusion Index shows opportunity for greater employer support across industries, as well as among smaller businesses\n\n DES MOINES, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nThe U.S. is the second most financially inclusive market, according to the 2022 Global Financial Inclusion Index (Index) – driven largely by the financial system and employers’ support of individuals. However, a new U.S.-focused analysis of the Index, sponsored by Principal Financial Group® and conducted by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), reveals an opportunity for employers to provide greater financial inclusion and support for their employees.\n\nThe Index ranks 42 global markets on three pillars of financial inclusion – government, financial system, and employer support – using data across public and survey-based sources. The analysis ranked the U.S. first out of the 42 markets in the financial system pillar and second within the employer support pillar, driven largely by its enablement of small and medium enterprise (SME) growth and success.\n\n“U.S. employers are critical in helping their employees access the resources necessary to make well-informed financial decisions,” said Chris Littlefield, president of Retirement and Income Solutions at Principal®. “We must recognize and appreciate the role employers play in fostering financial inclusion within our communities and, as an industry, continue to do everything we can to help more businesses support the financial needs of their employees, now and into the future.”\n\nOpportunity for more consistent employer support across industries\n\nWhen analyzing U.S. employer data by industry, opportunities were identified to enable more access to financial resources such as guidance, insurance benefits, retirement contributions, and pay initiatives (i.e. method of payment, access to interest-free loans on salary, etc.).\n\nAcross six broad industry classifications within the U.S., professional sectors with typically higher wages (i.e. finance, insurance, real estate, and information management) were found to provide employees with more consistent support and tools to enable financial inclusion. This can generally be compared to industries such as retail and hospitality that often employ more informal workers and tend to have lower wages.\n\n“The importance of this analysis is the insigh...