Inflation continues to rise without a brake and the price of goods and services increased by 7.9% in February compared to the same month last year, breaking again the record of the last 40 years, according to the Labor Department reported on Thursday.
The increase in the price of gasoline, housing and food were those that contributed the most to the increase, the highest since 1982. Between January and February, inflation grew by 0.8%.
The price of a gallon of gasoline in the US exceeds $4 on average due to inflation and the war in Ukraine
March 7, 202200:19
Gasoline registered a year-on-year increase of 6.6% in February and accounted for almost a third of the total increase, while food became more expensive by 1.0%.
Discounting food and energy, prices rose 6.4%, also a record since August 1982. The energy index increased 25.6% in the last year, and the food index 7.9%, the largest increase in a year since July from 1981.
For most citizens, inflation is far ahead of the pay raises many have received in the past year, making it harder for them to afford necessities like food, gas and rent.
He has emerged as the top political threat to President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats as the midterm elections near.
Small business owners now say in polls that it's their number one financial concern, too.
The data for this Thursday does not even reflect the increases in oil and gas prices last week due to the crisis in Ukraine.
Economists warn that
the worst is yet to come.
“Inflation is going to get worse before it gets better,” Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank, told NBC News.