Number of U.S. homeless people hits record high

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- The number of homeless people in the United States has increased by 12 percent to a record high, showed a government report on Friday.

About 653,000 people were homeless across the country in January, according to a head count conducted for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. That represents 70,650 more than a year earlier and the highest number since the survey began in 2007.

African Americans account for 13 percent of the U.S. population but make up 37 percent of the total homelessness, the report said.

The largest jump in homelessness, it said, was among Hispanics, standing at 28 percent from 2022 to 2023.

Family homelessness also rose by 16 percent, reversing what had been a downward trend since 2012.

Soaring rents and a decline in coronavirus pandemic assistance are among the major factors behind the homelessness crisis in the United States.