This discrepancy is easy to explain. My personal finances are quite fine but I have a LOT of friends who have to make a living doing several gig jobs. Said friends are, on paper, employed, and are getting by. But they are quite miserable: stressed, overworked, no leisure time and no benefits.

That’s why the article author is correct that macro stats aren’t good at capturing the quality of the lived experiences of people - just the quantities.