As recession fears fade, we may be experiencing a 'richcession' instead — here’s what that means for you

"In astir recessions, unemployment rises much for lower-income groups," said Tomas Philipson, a prof of nationalist argumentation studies astatine the University of Chicago and erstwhile acting seat of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

"Although we are not successful an wide recession yet, the request for and wages of lower-income groups are outpacing higher-income groups."

The commencement of the twelvemonth was plagued by waves of layoffs: Employers announced plans to chopped 481,906 jobs successful the archetypal 7 months, up 203% from the 159,021 cuts for the year-earlier period, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a planetary outplacement and concern and enforcement coaching firm.

Some sectors, specified arsenic banking and tech, person been peculiarly hard hit, and a bid of Wall Street layoffs earlier this summertime fueled fears that a recession inactive looms driven by those nonrecreational occupation losses.

But determination inactive aren't capable workers to capable unfastened positions successful the work manufacture and the unemployment complaint remains adjacent a 50-year debased astatine conscionable 3.5%. 

"Recession is simply a loaded term," said Jacob Channel, elder economist astatine LendingTree. "White-collar jobs mightiness not beryllium arsenic plentiful arsenic they were past year, but they're inactive around."

And "at the extremity of the day, adjacent if white-collar hiring does look to beryllium connected the decline, that doesn't mean that the full system arsenic a full is struggling," Channel said.

"On the contrary, astir existent information indicates that contempt galore headwinds, the broader system is doing remarkably well, each things considered," helium added.

But careless of the country's economical standing, galore Americans are feeling the symptom of higher prices and astir person exhausted their savings and are present leaning connected credit cards to marque ends meet.

Several reports amusement financial well-being is deteriorating. Rather than a "richcession," this much intimately resembles a so-called K-shaped recovery, said Greg McBride, Bankrate.com's main fiscal analyst.

Wealthy Americans aren't precisely suffering, but recognition paper debt is astatine an all-time precocious and 61% of adults are surviving paycheck to paycheck. "Those are signs of fiscal strain," helium said.

However this economical play is yet defined, it volition lone beryllium successful hindsight, McBride said. "Typically, by the clip a recession is declared, the betterment is underway."

Subscribe to CNBC connected YouTube.