The ongoing inflation crisis appears to be receding, as the latest Consumer Price Index marked its lowest increase since February 2021.
According to the Department of Labor Statistics, the September consumer price index (CPI) rose by 2.4% over the previous year, reported Axios. The core CPI, which does not include food and energy prices, rose by 3.3%.
Inflation peaked in June 2022 at 9.1%, fueled by supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and increases in gasoline, electricity, and food costs.
The dropping CPI rate follows the Fed’s half-point rate cut in September, which many see as politically motivated and an indicator of a looming recession.
“I guess it shows the economy is very bad to cut it by that much, assuming they’re not just playing politics,” former President Donald Trump said. “The economy would be very bad, or they’re playing politics, one or the other. But it was a big cut.”
As inflation cools, the Fed is now looking to bolster the labor market, which has shown signs of decline in recent months. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reported more unfilled jobs than unemployed workers.
“We have a lot of jobs but not enough workers to fill them,” wrote Stephanie Ferguson, director of Global Employment Policy & Special Initiatives at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “If every unemployed person in the country found a job, we would still have millions of open jobs.”
The COVID pandemic impacted the workforce when over 100,000 employers shuttered businesses, leading to significant changes in employee behavior, including some workers retiring and others finding alternatives to in-office work.