IMF tells US record growth is costing average citizens dear

Fund says economic benefits of decade-long expansion have not been widely shared

The increasingly polarised US economy has meant that a record-breaking period of growth has been accompanied by falling life expectancy, high levels of poverty and stagnant living standards for average Americans, the International Monetary Fund has said.

In its annual health check on the world's biggest economy, the IMF highlighted a range of "troubling" social indicators marring a decade-long expansion which in July will be the longest in the country's history.

The impact of rising suicides and drug overdoses on falling life expectancy, now one of the lowest in the G7.

A rise of just 2.2% in inflation-adjusted incomes for the median US household since the end of the 1990s, even though per capita incomes have risen by 23%.

A decrease in wealth among the poorest 40% of the population since 1983.

The fact that 45 million Americans live in poverty.

An erosion of social mobility so that half of today's young American adults earn less than their parents did at a similar age. Forty years ago the figure was 10%.

Poor education outcomes by international standards despite devoting a bigger slice of national income to schools and colleges.