The majority of Americans have said in a recent poll that their households are facing financial hardships as a result of the price increase.
A Gallup survey showed that the percentage of affected households increased to 56%. This is up from 49% in January and 45% in November of 2021. Those who responded with “moderate” amounted to 44% and those who noted the hardship was “severe” is 12%.
According to Gallup’s definition severe means that those households will be unable to sustain their standards of living, while moderate means that they are affected but their standards of living are not in any danger.
Many factors have led to these increased percentages including the pandemic, the increase in prices for food, gas, and housing as well as the increased demands for goods and services during a time of labor shortages and supply chain disruptions.
Sixty-nine percent of Americans with mid-level incomes, that is those making $48,000 to $89,999 annually are also found to be struggling to a larger percentage as they have had a 17-percentage point increase in those saying they were facing hardship. Upper-income Americans are also starting to face some financial hardships, with 40% noting they have been affected.
However, while in these groups the increase was large, lower-income Americans have not noted such vast changes in their hardship rate.
Those experiencing hardship are now resorting to reducing spending by only purchasing essentials, not driving as much, not taking vacations, or traveling. Some have also noted they are eating out less, and others have picked up more hours of work to supplement their income.
