Are you tired of seeing prices change at the supermarket? Well, get used to it as there will be no relief anytime soon.
Consumers are warned to expect “substantial increases in food prices” in the likes of a 6% climb this year just like we experienced last year, this is according to a Goldman Sachs report.
“The stage has been set for further substantial increases in retail food prices this year,” the investment bank’s economists wrote in the report.
They blamed COVID-related supply issues, as well as high labor costs and rising expenses for fertilizer and other farming necessities.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report prices across a range of goods and services rose 7% between December 2020 and December 2021. This so far the largest inflation growth in more than 40 years.
Food prices overall saw the largest increase since 2008, with a 6.5% jump in December. Meat prices went up 15%, while egg prices increased by 11%.
Goldman’s forecast is the latest gut punch for U.S. consumers grappling with rising costs for practically everything, from rent to food.
It also serves as a shot across the bow of election-minded politicians who already know inflation will be perhaps the single biggest issue going into the November midterms.
According to an assistant teaching professor at the Brandmeyer Center for Applied Economics at the University of Kansas, Levi Russell the latest job trend will hurt the economy.
“The decline in private employment alongside the massive increase in government employment does not bode well for average people,” Russell said.
Another 6% increase in grocery prices will hurt more working families feel as even harder to get ahead. Since the start of the pandemic, food costs have jumped by about 11%. Wages over the same period have declined by 1.2%.
Sources: KTLA, Washington Examiner
