Almost half of Americans are struggling to pay for their basic needs

Being alive is cripplingly expensive.

Forty percent of Americans can't afford basic needs, a study by the Urban Institute, an economic think tank, found Tuesday. Adults are still struggling to pay for their groceries, medical bills, and housing expenses, the study, found, even as the unemployment rate under President Trump bottoms out at a mere 3.8 percent.

In anticipation of the government cutting welfare programs, the Urban Institute surveyed over 7,500 people to see whether they experienced certain types of material hardship in 2017, reports CBS News. The results showed that 39.4 percent of adults between 18 and 64 had trouble meeting their basic needs. Most surprisingly, researchers found that many middle-class families struggled with food insecurity and affording housing and utilities, rather than just the poorest Americans.

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Low-income households still had the highest reported hardship numbers, but it's now clear that belonging to the middle class no longer prevents families from the struggles of day-to-day living.

The Urban Institute polled more than 7,500 American adults, inviting them to complete the survey via email. Responses were collected from Dec. 14, 2017 to Jan. 5, 2018. See more results here.