Most Americans now face financial hardships because of inflation
A majority of Americans said last month that price increases were causing financial hardship for their households, a Gallup survey released this week found.
A majority of Americans said last month that price increases were causing financial hardship for their households, a Gallup survey released this week found.
That share, 56%, is up from 49% in January and 45% in November 2021. It includes 12% of respondents who described the hardship as "severe" and 44% who called it "moderate."
Gallup defined severe hardship as one that jeopardizes a household's ability to maintain its current standard of living, while moderate hardship was one that affects a household somewhat, but does not endanger its current standard of living.
A confluence of factors, many of them pandemic-related, has led to increased prices for nearly everything, from food to housing and gasoline. Pent-up demand for goods and services, consumers' increased ability to spend their savings, supply chain disruptions and labor shortages have all helped bring about the current inflationary environment.
Significantly more middle-income American households, those making between $48,000 and $89,999 annually, are struggling now compared to last November, Gallup found. That group has seen a 17 percentage-point increase in the share reporting a hardship as a result of price increases, to 63%. Upper-income Americans, too, have seen a double-digit increase in financial hardships: up 12 points to 40%.
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