inflation in nearly four decades is inflicting financial pain on millions of Americans as prices for everyday necessities like food and gasoline soar higher, according to a new Census Bureau survey.
More than one-third of households reported difficulties in paying bills from April 27 through May 9, according to the Census Bureau's latest household pulse survey.
The share of Americans who have said it is somewhat or very difficult to pay for usual household expenses is now hovering near its 2020 peak, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.RELATED: US inflation hit 8.3% in April but slows from 40-year highIn some states, the percentage of Americans struggling to pay their bills is even higher: Nearly half of households in Mississippi – about 45% – reported difficulties in paying for usual household expenses, while that figure was about 43.6% in Kentucky and 41.8% in West Virginia.
A man shops at a Safeway grocery store in Annapolis, Maryland, on May 16, 2022, as Americans brace for summer sticker shock as inflation continues to grow. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images) Close to 40% of respondents in Alabama, Oklahoma, Wyoming and California said they were struggling to cover usual expenses, according to the household pulse survey.The average American is likely shelling out an extra $311 a month because of inflation, according to a recent Moody's Analytics analysis.