NEW YORK (BankingMyWay) — More Americans are struggling to make ends meet, as many either can’t find work or the work they can find doesn’t provide enough income to pay the bills.

Now a new survey from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, in conjunction with the Financial Planning Association and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, says that one in three Americans (31%) would be unable to make their mortgage or rent payments after one month of being unemployed.

That’s the case even though 72% of Americans work on financial planning activities at least once a month, the survey says.

Most of those surveyed earn less than $35,000 annually, and a quarter of that group said they couldn’t make their home payments if they were laid off. In addition, 25% of those surveyed didn’t have a high school education – a key factor in laying the financial groundwork needed to make a decent income.

The survey also has some disturbing news for those who do hold a job: It found that 61% of participants said that in the event they lost their job, they would only last five months before their ability to pay the mortgage or rent would dry up.

Additionally, 10% of those surveyed earning $100,000 or more annually said they are not guaranteed to make their next mortgage or rent payment if they lost their source of income.

According to Gallup, the unemployment rate was at 8.8% in mid-September. Another 9.7% of Americans were working part-time, but were unable to land a full-time job.

Meanwhile, monthly U.S. mortgage delinquency rates were 4.11% higher in August 2011 than they were in August 2010, according to the “First Look” Mortgage report by Lender Processing Services. LPS adds that the number of homes in foreclosure stood at 2,148,000 in August 2011.

To make matters worse, a $1 billion program from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) closed down on Friday, which was designed to help the unemployed make their monthly mortgage payments. The Emergency Homeowners Loan Program allowed borrowers in 27 hard-hit states to apply for an interest-free loan to make their mortgage payments in the event that they lost their jobs. Borrowers could get up to $50,000 in mortgage assistance, and only had to contribute $150 per month to their home mortgage payments. Sen. Robert Casey (D, Pa.) has introduced a bill in Congress to extend the program, which was launched as part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill this spring.

Things have seldom looked worse for homeowners who fear the loss of a job, and it doesn’t appear there’s much help coming from Washington.

Making ends meet in desperate financial situations is difficult for anyone, but there are resources available to help. Check out MainStreet's look at What to Do When You Run Out of Money or What to Do When You Run Out of Unemployment for details!

—For more ways to save, spend, invest and borrow, visit MainStreet.com.