Inflation isn’t in a great place right now: Despite “affordability” becoming the buzzword of D.C., prices are moving in the opposite direction to consumer wishes. The latest consumer price index (CPI) report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows inflation jumped once again, up to 3.3% over the past 12 months.
Much of this has come from increases in commodities like gasoline, which largely can be attributed to the oil supply shock following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran.
A tentative optimist might suggest things are looking up, with the White House suggesting an end to the conflict is imminent. But that does little to address the reality for those paying higher prices at the pump, many of whom had hoped Trump’s return to office would see the power of their day-to-day spending improve at best, and plateau at worst.
Yet even inflation of 3.3% belies the strain some households are under. Families paying for childcare, for example, may find their situation feels significantly worse than economic data describes.
“The economy is constantly shifting, and no single household, no single consumer, is experiencing things exactly the same way,” Taylor Bowley, an economist at the Bank of America Institute, told Fortune in an exclusive interview. “When people look at GDP, for instance, those prints look pretty good. But then when we really dive deep into some of this by income, we’ve also seen childcare has been a topic that has been particularly prevalent for so many households. Because from an economist’s term, childcare isn’t necessarily a necessity, but for so many families it totally is. That is not a discretionary item.”
