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- Inflation has touched every corner of the economy, including goods and services that people cannot avoid.
- Prices for food, gas, health care and housing have risen significantly from their pre-pandemic levels.
- With high inflation in February, prices for these staples are likely to continue rising.
Inflation is rampant in the US economy, and many goods and services that have skyrocketed in price are the most essential items in people’s daily lives.
With the wave of the COVID-19 Omicron pandemic almost over, inflation represents the biggest hurdle to economic recovery. The consumer price index, a closely monitored measure of broad inflation, rose 7.9% in the year to February, reflecting the fastest price increase since January 1982 and a further acceleration from the pace seen just a month earlier.
Inflation during the pandemic has driven up the price of almost everything from used cars to sneakers. However, the sharpest price increases have occurred in areas that Americans simply cannot avoid. Basic food, health care and car travel have become less and less affordable over the past year, and the latest data shows no signs of recovery.
Everywhere you look, it’s getting harder to avoid hot inflation. Here are four areas of need where price spikes are rapidly becoming more intense.