Washington DC, October 11, 2023: The US Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.6% in September 2023, the biggest monthly increase since January 2022. This pushed the annual inflation rate to 8.2%, the highest level since December 1981, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.1
According to their report, prices have gone up by 3.7% compared to the same time last year.
The increase in the CPI was driven by rising food and energy prices. Food prices rose 0.8% in September, the largest monthly increase since June 2008. Energy prices rose 2.8% in September, the largest monthly increase since March 2022.
But inflation is still lower than it was in 2022.
The Fed raised interest rates five times this year in an effort to slow the economy and reduce inflation. However, the recent increase in the CPI suggests that the Fed’s efforts have not yet been successful.
The unemployment rate in the United States was 3.8% in August and September 2023. This is the same unemployment rate as in July 2023. The unemployment rate is close to a 50-year low.2
- US Inflation: https://www.bls.gov/bls/newsrels.htm#OPLC[↩]
- US Inflation; https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.html[↩]
