JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The price of food, gas, and houses keeps going up — even if it appears to be slowing.
The latest report from the Consumer Price Index shows consumer prices overall increased 3% this year through June, another decline in the pace of inflation.
Florida is still a hotspot for inflation. US data shows inflation rates reached 9% in some Florida cities because of skyrocketing housing costs.
“The cost of living here, it’s not New York City it’s Jacksonville. But hey, that’s the price you pay when you live here,” Arnitra Taylor said, who lives in Duval County.
Joe Krier, an economist with Tidal Flow Trading says there’s still a long way to go before the Federal Reserve reaches it’s inflation goal of 2%.
“You can say it’s getting better because it’s increasing at a slower rate and there is something to be said for that,” Krier said. “It did slow to 3%, which, that seems like only 1% away, but it’s really 50% of the distance, that they still have to go. And inflation has been very sluggish, much more so than the Federal Reserve would have liked.”
Krier said eventually, high prices will force consumers to start spending less.
“The cure for high prices is high prices. And eventually people get fed up with paying it and they’ll shift their behavior. And that’s really what the feds are looking for,” Krier said.
We want to know: are you paying more for food, housing and insurance? How has the cost of living affected your life? Let us know here or in the comments section below.
According to today’s CPI release, price increases over the year include:
- Pet Food: +12.1%
- Bread: +11.5%
- Fruits and Vegetables: +8.8%
- Rent: +8.3%
- Baby Food and Formula: +7.5%
- All Food: +5.7%
- Electricity: +5.4%