How long will high inflation last in the US?
1:07
(CNN) - US
inflation levels are not expected to decline to acceptable levels until the end of 2022, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday.
The prediction comes as rising prices put Americans' wallets to the test at grocery stores and fuel pumps amid high demand for energy, already exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic that is wreaking havoc on the economy. economy.
When asked when he expects inflation, which was 5.4% at the end of September, to return to the 2% range that is considered acceptable, Yellen told CNN's Jake Tapper that it would be mid-to-second. mid 2022.
"Well, I hope that happens next year. Monthly inflation rates have already dropped substantially from the very high rates we saw in the spring and early summer," he said in "State of the Union."
"On a 12-month basis, the inflation rate will remain high over the next year because of what has already happened. But I expect an improvement ... from the middle to the end of next year, the second half of next year."
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He also tried to downplay concerns about rising inflation, telling Tapper that he does not believe the United States is losing control of inflation, and dismissed criticism from former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who has been raising the alarm about the inflation rates and spending.
"I think you are wrong, I do not think we are about to lose control of inflation," he said, although he agreed that the United States is going through a period of higher inflation than before.
"It is something that obviously worries them, but we have not lost control."
Inflation, employment and the supply chain
Coupled with rising inflation, 4.3 million Americans quit their jobs in August, a record high as the supply chain for everyday goods faces an ongoing bottleneck at US ports, driven in part by worker shortages.
As of the end of August, there were 10.4 million job openings, according to the report from the Jobs and Job Turnover Survey (JOLTS).
Yellen said he expects bottlenecks to decrease as the coronavirus pandemic progresses and predicted that Americans will return to the workforce as conditions improve.
When asked about the record number of Americans leaving their jobs and what the Biden administration is doing to get people back to work, Yellen said, "We have a good, tight job market."
"Companies are obviously having trouble hiring workers, but the labor supply is depressed by the pandemic," he said.
"That is due to health problems, childcare, and as we overcome the pandemic, I expect the supply of labor to increase."
President Joe Biden said during a CNN forum last week in Baltimore, Maryland, that he was considering deploying the National Guard to help ease the supply chain crisis, but shortly after, a White House official asked told CNN that deployment of the National Guard is not being actively considered.
CNN's Donald Judd contributed to this report.
Inflation
