A majority of Americans said last month that price increases were causing financial hardship for their households, a Gallup survey released this week found.

That share, 56%, is up from 49% in January and 45% in November 2021. It includes 12% of respondents who described the hardship as "severe" and 44% who called it "moderate."

Gallup defined severe hardship as one that jeopardizes a household's ability to maintain its current standard of living, while moderate hardship was one that affects a household somewhat, but does not endanger its current standard of living.

A confluence of factors, many of them pandemic-related, has led to increased prices for nearly everything, from food to housing and gasoline. Pent-up demand for goods and services, consumers' increased ability to spend their savings, supply chain disruptions and labor shortages have all helped bring about the current inflationary environment.

Significantly more middle-income American households, those making between $48,000 and $89,999 annually, are struggling now compared to last November, Gallup found. That group has seen a 17 percentage-point increase in the share reporting a hardship as a result of price increases, to 63%. Upper-income Americans, too, have seen a double-digit increase in financial hardships: up 12 points to 40%.

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Although the increase in the hardship rate among lower-income Americans was smaller, about three-quarters of that group reported hardships.

In a separate survey released last month, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that the lowest annual wage Americans would be willing to take for a new job had hit $72,873. While that is down from a record high of $73,283 in March, it is up dramatically from the $61,700 seen just before the start of the pandemic.

Americans who are experiencing hardships are coping with them in ways one might expect, Gallup said: 24% said they were reducing spending, including buying less generally or buying only the essentials. Another 17% said they were traveling less or driving less, and canceling vacations.

But only 12% said they were trading down to generic goods, and just 10% said they were eating out less. A mere 7% said they were trying to increase their income by working more hours, finding a second job or looking for a new job.

Reports of financial hardship also differed by political party. Sixty-seven percent of respondents who identify as Republicans were more likely to say they are facing economic difficulty compared with 44% of respondents identifying as Democrats, Gallup found.