An economy can grow while many households feel financially insecure. Aggregate growth measures total production, not how gains are distributed or how costs change.
If housing, education or healthcare costs rise faster than wages, households may experience little improvement even when national output increases. Regional differences can also hide hardship behind national averages.
Growth remains important because it expands the resources available to society. But measuring progress requires complementary indicators for wages, wealth, affordability, health, security and opportunity.