More than a third of people have cut their spending and boosted their earnings over the past six months by working longer hours, a survey has revealed.

As the soaring cost of living hits pockets, almost half of those surveyed - 45% - said they had "low confidence" in the economy over the next six months and 34% are unsure of the way the economy is heading, with inflation at a near 40-year high of almost 9%.

Rising prices are being fuelled by the war in Ukraine, and increased mortgage repayments as the European Central Bank raises interest rates to battle inflation.

November was the 15th month in a row in which annual inflation was at least 5% - more than double the ECB's target of "around 2%".

Public unease about the economy is underlined by the survey from Moneysherpa.ie which says: "Cutting back on spending was the most popular choice in the last six months at 37%, with consumers cutting back in a multitude of ways."

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The cutback in spending is leading to worries of a wage-price spiral in the domestic economy, whereby workers demand higher wages to cope with higher prices, which then provokes companies to raise prices even higher.

Moneysherpa founder Mark Coan said: "What all central bankers don't want inflation to do is to become ingrained in the economy and then no matter what you do with interest rates it doesn't really matter."

Mr Coan warned that there were "early signs in the data" that a wage-price spiral is already developing.

"We are probably in a new situation moving forward. There are recessionary pressures as people look to cut back and they are going to affect small businesses in particular, because of the type of things people are cutting back on," he said.

Consumers are doing their best to tackle rising costs by switching their mortgage to a better deal, changing their shopping habits and swapping energy provider.

Mr Coan hopes this will "drive more competition, which has always been a challenge in the Irish marketplace".

Almost half of people surveyed - 44% - said they "chose to simply go without and buy less", with 30% of people shopping around for better deals and 11% buying in bulk for better discounts.

Some 35% have increased their earnings in the past six months, with 28% working longer hours and 11% hiking their wages through pay increases or by moving to a better-paid job.

Some 37% cut their spending in the past six months while almost the same number - 35% - had increased their income in the last six months. Only 21% expressed confidence in the economic outlook.

Mr Coan said: "Central bankers have tried to put the brakes on inflation by hiking interest rates. It's clear from our survey that these increases are forcing people to cut back, with over a third of us spending less in the last six months.

"Interestingly though, many have also found ways to increase their income, with over one in four working longer hours and over one in ten changing job or getting a pay rise. It's clear many households are making significant changes in response to the cost-of-living crisis."