According to the Census Bureau, the hottest in nearly four decades is the inflicting financial pain on millions of Americans as their everyday necessities like food and gasoline soar higher, according to a survey by the Census Bureau.
More than one-third of households have difficulty paying bills from April 27 to May 9, according to the Census Bureau'sCensus Bureau's latest household pulse survey. The American share of Americans who have said it is somewhat or very difficult to pay for usual household expenses is nearing its 2020 peak, at the height of the COVID-19 epidemic.
Nearly half of households in Mississippi reported difficulties in paying for household expenses, while that figure was about 43.6% in Kentucky and 41.8% in West Virginia.
According to the household pulse survey, close to 40% of respondents in Alabama, Oklahoma, Wyoming and California said they were struggling to cover usual expenses.
According to a recent Moody's Analytics analysis, the average American is likely to shell out an extra $311 a month. The financial squeeze comes from the rising cost of a number of everyday goods, including cars, rent, gasoline and health care.
In April, the consumer price index went up by 8.3%, with inflation accelerating again in April. While it's down a bit from the 41-year high notched in March, it was much higher than economists expected and underscores that inflationary pressures in the economy remain strong.
Inflation is eating away at the strong wage gains American workers have seen in recent months: Real average hourly earnings fell 0.1% in April from the previous month, as the inflation increase eroded the 0.3% total wage gain, according to the Labor Department. Real earnings dropped by 2.6% in April.
President Biden, who has seen his approval rating plunge as consumer prices rise, has been hit with a political headache because of the inflation spike. It has forced the Federal ReserveFederal Reserve to embark on the most ambitious policy tightening mission in decades: policymakers raised the benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points in May for the first time since 2000, and have signaled that similarly sized hikes are on the table at coming meetings as they try to tame inflation.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell told reporters recently that inflation is too high, and we understand the hardship it is causing. There is a broad sense on the committee that additional 50 basis point increases should be on the table at the next couple of meetings, given that economic and financial conditions evolve in line with expectations.