For the first time in over a year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says its monthly consumer price index (CPI) rose last month.
The latest CPI report shows prices rose 3.2% from July 2022 to July 2023. CPI is the average change of prices year-over-year that you pay for everyday goods and services. Those include food and beverages, housing, apparel, transportation, medical care, recreation, education, communication, and more.
Dr. Bill Craighead, Director of Economic Forum at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, said the increase last month was expected because of price changes from last year, especially on gas. Many were worried the jump could have been much higher.
Craighead said despite the increase, the good news is overall inflation is trending downward.
"While people have really been hit hard by inflation, I think we're really starting to put it behind us," he said. "Increases in inflation last year, were really, you know, the highest we'd had since the early 1980s. So, you know, most Americans hadn't really experienced that in their lifetime."
Inflation hit a 40-year high at over 9% in June 2022. Craighead said the latest CPI report is a good sign for many families struggling to make ends meet.
"What the goal here really is, is to have prices not be going up or going down, to have them be roughly stable, and that's where we're getting to," he said. "What we are seeing in the data is that they're no longer going up at a fast rate."
Robin Tenboer, a working mom with three kids, said her family has been relying on food stamps to get by.
"When you're spending more on food and more on gas, it really restricts being able to do anything else," she said.
After the latest report, she said she is hopeful that cooling inflation will help her budget.
"I know it will take a little bit of time, but I'm really hopeful that things will start coming down on prices. I think it'll help not only our family but a lot of families," she said.
Craighead said right now wages are going up faster than inflation, meaning families have more purchasing power.
"Things are headed in the right direction and inflation is getting back down to normal," he said.
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