Nearly half of American households say inflation is causing financial hardship, according to a Gallup poll.
Forty-five percent of Americans say inflation is responsible for their current financial difficulties—10 percent of whom describe those difficulties as "severe." Among those most affected are Americans in the lowest income bracket, with 71 percent of households making $40,000 or less saying inflation is causing financial strain. Less than a third of those making more than $100,000 reported financial hardship.
The national poll comes as the Biden administration grapples with rising inflation, which reached a 30-year high in November, according to a Labor Department report. The highest levels of inflation were in the energy sector, where the prices of gas and oil have increased by more than 50 percent since last year.
Financial hardship caused by inflation has also disproportionately fallen on Americans with less education. Fifty-four percent of Americans without a college degree report that price increases have affected them. Only 30 percent of Americans with a college degree report hardship caused by inflation.
A Morning Consult/Politico poll in October found that 62 percent of registered voters blame the Biden administration's policies for the surge in prices.