May inflation nationally hit 8.6% as Pennsylvania gas prices set a record, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Its new Consumer Price Index marked a four-decade high. 

Food, housing, and fuel costs are the main contributing factors, forcing many Americans to struggle financially. Pennsylvania gas prices set a record in mid-June, topping $5 a gallon.

"Average gas prices in Pittsburgh have now crossed the $5 mark for the first time in history, one day after prices in Pennsylvania did the same," Las Vegas Review-Journal tweeted on Thursday.

After slumping in April, the index for gasoline increased 4.1% during May, and 48.7% in the past 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. In April, the shelter index inched upward 0.6%, the most significant monthly increase since March 2004. The food index also increased 1.2% in May while the food at home index increased 1.4%.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the CPI's 8.6% year-over-year surge signifies the quickest rate in more than 40 years. The Journal reports May’s increase was driven, in part, by sharp rises in the prices for energy, which climbed 34.6% from last year, and groceries, which increased by 11.9% on the year, the most significant increase since 1979. 

According to FiveThirtyEight poll results, President Joe Biden's approval rating currently is 39.7%, while 53.7% disapprove of his job performance.

Pennsylvania's gas average, which sits at $5.06 per gallon, has spiked 52 cents over the course of the last month, according to AAA. 

According to Fox News, Biden continues to blame the nation's inflation issues on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. After the Labor Department's inflation announcement June 10, Biden said the U.S. "has never seen anything like Vladimir Putin’s tax on both food and gas," Fox News reported.