Inflation is back, and consumers have noticed.

Consumer prices in April rose by the most in 12 years, as product shortages conspired with strong demand by consumers emerging from the coronavirus pandemic. Annual inflation is now 4.2%, a pace economists expect to persist and maybe rise further during the next few months.

Household budgets are suffering. In a new Yahoo Finance-Harris poll, 53% of respondents say their household income is failing to keep up with inflation. Fifteen percent say their income has risen by less than inflation during the last year, 28% say their income has flatlined and 10% say it has fallen. Eighteen percent say their income has risen by more than inflation. Harris polled 1,719 American adults from May 7-10.

Consumers see the prices of goods rising more than services, which generally tracks with inflation data. In the poll, 78% of respondents said the price of goods has risen during the last year, while only 15% say prices have not risen. The numbers are lower for services, with 56% seeing price hikes and 25% not seeing them.

[Read more: 3 things that saw the highest price increases this month]

Labor Department data does show higher inflation for goods than for services. The annual inflation rate for durables such as cars and appliances surged to 7.3% in April. There's been a huge jump in used car prices, up 21% during the last 12 months. Gasoline prices are up 50%, though that's compared with a low point during the nationwide coronavirus shutdowns last year, when travel plummeted.

Nondurables such as clothing and office supplies are up by 6.5%. The cost of services, by contrast, has risen by just 2.6%, which probably reflects soft demand as some consumers remain reluctant to leave home, with coronavirus still present.

As for particular categories, 69% of poll respondents said the price of fresh food has risen during the past year, while only 23% say it has stayed the same. Sixty-four percent say the cost of household goods such as cleaning supplies and pet food has risen, while 50% report higher utility costs.

There’s some good news embedded in the inflation data. Forty-one percent of poll respondents say health care costs have stayed flat during the last year, while only 39% say they’ve risen. The data supports that. Health care inflation is just 1.5% during the last year, a rare break for consumers who normally struggle to pay for insurance and out-of-pocket expenses. That, too, could reflect weak demand as people put off non-emergency care until they feel more comfortable going out.