The cost of food, housing and energy continues to climb as U.S. inflation hit another 40-year high.
The Consumer Price Index rose 8.5% in a year through March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday, the biggest increase in goods since 1981.
Prices have been climbing as the American economy deals with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Economists say high consumer demand paired with bottlenecked supply chains have played a major role in driving costs up.
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From February to March, prices increased 1.2%—the highest rate in the past year.
Gas prices rose 18.3% and accounted for half the monthly increase, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said, with food costs going up another 1%. Prices of airline tickets, home furniture, medical care and car insurance also drove the monthly inflation rate.
Price increases are also visible at the grocery store where meat, poultry, fish and eggs went up 13.7% in the past year, beef climbed 16% and dairy related products jumped 7%.
Housing costs have gone up 5% in a year. And in Michigan, rent is up 15.71% when comparing 2020 to 2021.
The cost of used vehicles started to drop in February and March after skyrocketing 35% in the past year.
Recent survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau analyzed by QuoteWizard found that half of Michiganders are struggling to pay their monthly bills as inflation swells.
Related: Wages are rising in Michigan, but they’re in a tight race with inflation
And these price hikes are colliding with falling wages.
Real hourly earning for all employees dropped 0.8% from February to March, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows. This came from a 0.4% increase in wages that was overshadowed by the 1.2% jump in consumer prices.
Looking at the past year, real earnings have dropped 2.7% for American workers.
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