Survey: Workers are unable to save money, using tax returns to pay off bills

While more fortunate than those without work and consolidating debt to do their best to make ends meet, a new survey has found that even the majority of those with a job are perilously close to serious financial problems.

According to a survey released Wednesday by CareerBuilder.com, 78 percent of workers with jobs are currently living paycheck-to-paycheck and unable to build up any significant savings. The figure is higher than the 61 percent who said they lived paycheck-to-paycheck in a survey taken last May.

Likely because of the lack of savings possessed by a majority of workers, 56 percent of respondents said they planned on using their tax returns to pay off bills that have piled up in recent months.

"Workers’ wallets are still feeling the ripple effects of the past year," said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources for CareerBuilder. "In addition to scaling back their investments and cutting back on expenses, workers are using their tax returns to help supplement their incomes. Our survey indicates that more workers plan to spend their refunds on everyday expenses than on savings or other items."

Additionally, 34 percent said they planned on putting their tax return into savings, while 8 percent said they would use it to pay back money to people who had given them a loan. Only 11 percent of respondents said they planned to use their refund to fund a vacation.