Rising costs and tight budgets strain Americans ahead of midterm elections
Rising prices are outpacing US wages and underemployment stays high as the 2026 midterms approach, with voters ranking the cost of living their top concern.
With the 2026 midterm elections on the horizon, the cost of living has become the dominant concern for American voters — and for millions of households, making ends meet keeps getting harder.
Stacy Eichel, an empty nester in Florida, lost her healthcare marketing job in a September 2025 merger. She fell back on a side business selling custom-branded merchandise to corporate clients, but demand for such extras is shrinking as firms tighten budgets amid tariff uncertainty and the spread of AI. “Fewer people are buying custom-branded swag because it’s more of a luxury item,” she told Al Jazeera.
Her experience mirrors a wider strain. The Labor Department’s broader U-6 measure of unemployment and underemployment stands at 7.6 percent. Some 4.5 million Americans work part-time because they cannot find full-time work, while nine million — 5.5 percent of the employed — hold multiple jobs.
Prices are outrunning pay. Average hourly wages rose 3 percent over the past year while consumer prices climbed 3.7 percent, per the latest Consumer Price Index. Gasoline averaged $4.29 a gallon this week, AAA said, up from $2.98 when the US and Israel first struck Iran in February.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll found the cost of living is voters’ top issue at 47 percent, far ahead of any rival. And for the first time in 12 years, voters trust Democrats more than Republicans on the economy, 40 percent to 33 percent, a Washington Post–ABC News–Ipsos poll showed.
Source: Al Jazeera English — TrendWire reports stories in its own words; facts should be confirmed against the original source.