Number of U.S. homeless people hits record high

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 report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

That represents the highest number since the survey began in 2007. Family homelessness 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.