Peach Tree Times

On Aug. 10, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for the 12 months ending July 2022. The data showed an 8.5% all items annual increase, which represents a 0.6% drop from last month. 

Some of the largest contributors were increases in the index for food, shelter and electricity; the report said.

"It’s a sign of how far and fast inflation has risen this year that an increase in prices of 8.5% in July on an annual basis triggered a market rally on Wednesday," the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Editorial Board said. "That’s down from 9.1% a month ago, and the trend is in the right direction, but one month’s respite is far from the end of this punishing inflation bout."

Real average hourly earnings for all employees decreased 3%, seasonally adjusted, from July 2021 to July 2022; the BLS report said. The change in real average hourly earnings combined with a decrease of 0.6% in the average workweek resulted in a 3.6% decrease in real average weekly earnings over this period.

With the -3.6% wage inflation for July 2022, Georgia's average household income has seen a -$3,228 year-over-year loss, bringing the state's current average household income down to $86,451 a year; a Zippia report said.

This comes as food prices rose 1.1% in July and are up 10.9% over last year, BLS data said. Take-home grocery prices rose at an even faster rate at 1.3% for the month and 13.1% over the past 12 months. The index for shelter climbed 0.5% in the last month and 5.7% in the last year.

President Joe Biden took to Twitter recently boasting of July's 0% inflation rate. But the WSJ Editorial Board pointed out that "the slowdown came largely from volatile energy prices, which had soared in June." Additionally, prices across most of the rest of the economy continued on their upward trend.