Nearly 40% of Americans are worried about being able to pay all of their bills on time, a higher percentage than during the Great Recession of 2008-09, according to a new survey.

A CNN poll revealed that 39% of Americans are concerned about consistently paying their bills, a 33% increase from the peak of Biden-flation and exceeding the 37% during the 2008 crisis, when unemployment was nearly 10%, the outlet reported, citing the polling results.

Inflation during the Biden-Harris administration has reached new heights in the modern era, and while it has eased somewhat in recent months, it remains stubbornly high, raising the costs of food, gasoline, housing, and other basic amenities like utilities. CNN added that “consumers are still trying to catch up to the price spikes of the last few years.”

The Daily Signal, citing the survey, added:

Still trying to catch up is an understatement. The gap between nominal wages and inflation-adjusted wages since 2021 is more than 20%. So, it looks like you’re making a lot more, but even accounting for official inflation, workers have lost thousands in income. Of course, if official inflation is a lie, which seems likely, going by real-world prices from housing to restaurants and groceries, then workers have lost a lot more.

To illustrate, official inflation since COVID-19 is 21%, but fast-food menu prices—a standard finance proxy for true inflation—are up more than twice that, while housing costs have doubled since COVID-19, between rising house prices and rising mortgage rates. If those real-world numbers are closer to true inflation, then workers have lost potentially thousands per month.

CNN reported that 35 percent of respondents, or over one-third, have had to take on additional part-time work to make ends meet. This includes 44% of Black individuals, 52% of Latinos, and nearly half of workers under age 45.

“That explains why jobs are rising on paper, yet the actual number of employed Americans is plunging—down 600,000 in the past eight months alone,” the Daily Signal added.

The poll also revealed that over two-thirds of Americans are reducing their grocery spending, and almost half are driving less to save on gas. Furthermore, 4 in 10 Americans are resorting to credit cards to cover essential expenses such as groceries and gas.

A CNN poll taken immediately after the debate between Trump and Harris found that the percentage of voters who trust Trump more than Harris on the economy jumped from +16 percent to +20 percent.

CNN’s Jake Tapper introduced the poll by saying to CNN political director David Chalian, “The first results of our instant poll of debate-watchers have just come in and David Chalian is going to join us now to break it all down. David, tell us more.”

“Yeah, Jake, and as you noted, this is a poll of debate watchers,” Chalian pointed out. “This is not a poll that represents the overall population, although in partisan breakdown it is pretty close to what the overall registered population looks like in the country.”

Later in the event, Chalian presented the results of a poll asking viewers which candidate, Trump or Harris, they trusted more on the economy. While Trump had a 16-point advantage over Harris before the debate (53%–37%), his lead had increased to 20% (55%–35%) during the discussion.

During the debate, Trump stated, “We’ve had a terrible economy because inflation has — which is really known as a country buster. It breaks up countries. We have inflation like very few people have ever seen before. Probably the worst in our nation’s history. … everybody knows I’m an open book. Everybody knows what I’m going to do. Cut taxes very substantially. And create a great economy like I did before. We had the greatest economy.”

WATCH:

As noted by The Daily Wire, voters have indicated for months that the economy is a top issue:

–September 10: CBS News: “About 8 in 10 adults tell CBS News that the economy is a major factor in their choice at the polls, outpacing issues such as abortion and climate change.”

–The Economist/YouGov poll, August 11-13: 73% of those polled said jobs and the economy were very important to them, far surpassing any other issue.

–July 30: Statista: “A survey conducted in July 2024 found that the most important issue for 25 percent of Americans was inflation and prices. A further ten percent of respondents were most concerned about jobs and the economy.”

–March 6: Data For Progress noted that between July 2023 to February 2024, inflation “held the top spot for the majority of the time” among issues important to voters.

Trump looks to have made impressive gains over Harris, gaining roughly 14 points among independents and 19 points among Latino voters.