Food costs jump fastest in decades

NEW YORK - If it seems like your grocery costs are jumping faster than you remember them jumping in the past, you're right.

Grocery prices for American consumers have jumped 6.4% over the 12 months ending in November, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. The increase is the highest 12-month spike since 2008.

Meanwhile, going out to eat hasn't gotten any cheaper either, with restaurant prices rising by 5.8%, the largest 12-month increase since January 1982. 

Overall, consumer prices jumped 6.8% over the past year — the highest such inflation rate in 39 years and touch every aspect of American life, from energy and housing to cars and clothing. 

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Fueling the jump in inflation has been a mix of factors resulting from the swift rebound from the pandemic recession: A flood of government stimulus, ultra-low rates engineered by the Fed and supply shortages at factories. Manufacturers have been slowed by heavier-than-expected customer demand, COVID-related shutdowns, and overwhelmed ports and freight yards.

Over the past 12 months, the costs paid by a typical American family have surged by roughly $4,000, according to calculations by Jason Furman, a Harvard economist and former Obama White House aide.

Though Americans’ overall income has also increased since the pandemic, a new poll found that far more people are noticing higher inflation than higher wages. Two-thirds say their household costs have risen since the pandemic, compared with only about a quarter who say their incomes have increased, according to the poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

With the Associated Press.