WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that inflation as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) on all items increased by 2.6% for the 12 months ending in October—accelerating from the previous month and still above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Prices overall are up 20.5% since January 2021—the start of the Biden-Harris White House.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, rose at a pace of 3.3% in October from a year prior, similar to last month. Inflation in housing (shelter) increased by 4.9% (same as last month), and food accelerated by 2.1% over the past 12 months, down from 2.3% last month. Real wages increased by just 1.4%.
Patrice Onwuka, director of the Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) at IWF, issued the following statement:
“The worrisome uptick of the inflation rate confirms what Americans know intuitively: inflation is not dead. A new attack plan is critical to bring down prices.
“Food prices are still high, making the traditional Thanksgiving dinner with all of the trimmings much costlier than four years ago. Meanwhile, credit card balances have hit fresh new highs, and Americans are saving at their lowest rates in recent history because of the affordability crisis. High interest rates are squeezing households’ budgets with higher credit card, personal, and car loan payments.
“Women make the lion’s share of household consumer spending and are increasingly forced to work two jobs to make ends meet. Low-income households, which spend disproportionately more of their incomes on essentials such as food and energy, bear a heavier burden from today’s high prices. They’ve experienced diminished quality of life as they cut back, trade down, or are forced to make existential choices such as between food, medicine, and heat.
“Americans faulted President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for their inflationary policies. The electorate did not trust them to bring prices back down. Instead, a majority of the American people elected former President Trump back to the White House to bring down gas prices, food prices, and housing costs. They trust him to keep taxes low and to find new ways to allow households to keep more of their hard-earned money. If his first administration is any sign, we can have some confidence that he will deliver on promises of economic relief for every American household.”