Half of Americans experiencing financial hardships: Poll

About half of Americans have said that their families have been experiencing financial hardship due to recent price increases, with 10 percent describing the hardship as severe, according to a new poll.

The Gallup Poll, released on Thursday, showed that a total of 45 percent of people in the US said that they are facing financial hardships due to inflation.

The poll said lower-income households have been hit especially hard by the recent price increases, with 71 percent of households making less than $40,000 a year saying inflation has caused hardship.

Twenty-eight percent of respondents called the hardship they are experiencing severe, saying it affects their ability to maintain their current standard of living.

Meanwhile, 47 percent of middle-income households and 29 percent in upper-income households said that inflation has caused hardship.

Less-educated Americans also reported financial hardship following price increases.

About 55 percent of people without a college degree said inflation has caused financial hardship, but 30 percent with a college degree also said the same.

According to the Gallup poll, Democrats reported less financial hardship compared to Republicans and independents.

The poll was conducted between November 3 to November 16 and 1,598 adults participated in it.

According to recent statistics, the consumer price index (CPI) rose 6.2 percent in the US federal government's fiscal year, which runs from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021.

The CPI, which tracks inflation for a range of staple goods and services, also rose nearly one percent in the month of October.

Advisers blame US inflation on Covid-19 pandemic, not Biden’s policies

US President Joe Biden

US President Joe Biden's advisers have described the rampant inflation in the country as caused by the COVID-19 pandemic rather than the Democratic administration’s economic policies.

"There's no doubt inflation is high right now. It's affecting Americans' pocketbooks. It's affecting their outlook," Brian Deese, the director of the White House National Economic Council, told NBC News.

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