CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Americans are in a collective state of financial depression as many admit they could only cover their bills for two months at most if they found themselves suddenly jobless, a nightmare more and more worry may come true.

The results of a bevy of surveys found a growing number of consumers are only a couple paychecks away from a household collapse even as many scramble to shore up savings. Rainy-day funds appear to be a distant memory as households burn cash to cover food and energy bills as well as mortgage and car payments.

A large number of households say that even one missed paycheck would spell financial ruin. And even in households that remain well off, the surveys show a festering fear that financial problems are lurking.

"This is flashing so bright red," said Paul Ballew, senior vice president of Nationwide Insurance Co. "Roughly 60% of the population was ill-prepared (financially) before the meltdown."

A MetLife study released last week found that 50% of Americans said they have only a one-month cushion -- roughly two paychecks -- or less before they would be unable to fully meet their financial obligations if they were to lose their jobs. More disturbing is that 28% said they could not make ends meet for longer than two weeks without their jobs.

And it's not just low-income earners who would find themselves financially challenged. Twenty-nine percent of those making $100,000 or more a year said they would have trouble paying the bills after more than a month of unemployment.

Meanwhile, more than four in 10 respondents told pollsters in a recent Pew Research Center study that job-related issues were the nation's most important economic problem.

"Since October, mentions of other major economic issues have declined, as the public is increasingly focused on the job situation," according to the Pew study.

Since July, the study noted, there was been a striking spike in the numbers of families making $100,000 or more who said it was difficult to find local jobs -- 73% compared with 40% eight months ago.

Weighing on the psyche

A Discover U.S. Spending Monitor monthly study found that consumers were becoming more despondent as each month passed.

For example, the number of people reporting that they had money left over after paying their bills in February fell to 47% from 51% in January. Those thinking they would come up short in finances in the following 30 days rose to 39% from 34%, while those who said they had six months or more of reserves on hand should the paychecks stop coming dropped to 20% from 22%.

Not surprisingly, spending and savings patterns have shifted dramatically and across nearly all income levels. The Pew Center study found that, on average, 86% of consumers at all income levels have cut back spending, though the changes differ by wage level.

For example, lower-income Americans are likely to have cut back on vacations or put off big-ticket expenses, such as home improvements or purchasing a car. Meanwhile, higher-income earners are more likely to have tweaked their retirement plans, according to the Pew Center.

The same is true even in eating behaviors, according to a recent Janney Montgomery Scott report. Consumers across the income spectrum are seeking more values, with lower income households most likely to move to private-label brands and use coupons, while wealthier consumers were deciding to eat at home and not out, analyst Jonathan Feeney wrote in the report.

Most families, however, are paring spending because they're worried about the future rather than the present, according to the Discover study. While only 30% said they're cutting back on dining out, vacations, cars or home goods because their financial situation has become worse, 56% said they are making those changes because they're anxious that their financial health will weaken considerably. That sentiment has held since December, the study found.

"Consumers don't seem to be making any changes month to month," said Matt Towson, a spokesman for Discover. "The numbers indicate that people are being frugal and still planning to cut spending."

Long-term retrenchment

America's Research Group found that nearly 57% of the consumers it polled said they would spend less this year while virtually no one plans to spend more.

But this is not just a one-year thing, according to consumers surveyed by BIGresearch. Nearly 91% said they see this crisis bearing down on their spending decisions -- in effect, their lifestyles -- over the next five years.

Fifty-five percent said they will think carefully before they make a purchase and 51% said they expect to be more price-conscious when buying clothing and food.

"American consumers are hunkered down, bracing for a depression," said Britt Beemer, chief executive of America's Research Group. "The dramatic drops in shopping levels have no match in our database in the last 30 years."

Ray of hope

If there is a silver lining, it could be this: The recent stock market rallies and a slowdown in the numbers of mass layoff announcements are encouraging signs to consumers that could bring some sense of economic stabilization.

Gallup's Consumer Mood Index, based on a daily tracking poll, increased over the last week to minus103 from minus 116 the week before.

"The sharp improvement in consumers' mood over the past week should not be surprising," said Dennis Jacobe, chief economist for Gallup. He credited the market's surge coupled with a "concerted effort to create a positive spin on the economic outlook" by the White House and the Federal Reserve.

"Given the results, these efforts seem to be working and appear to have brought the downward plunge in consumer psychology of the previous several weeks to at least a temporary end," he said.

But it might not be enough to overcome what's already happened to millions of Americans.