Jumping inflation rate causes Bay Area prices to surge

(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

(OAKLAND, Calif.) The Bay Area has seen a steep cost increase for most items since June due a climbing rate of inflation, making it increasingly difficult for area residents to afford essential items amid post-pandemic woes, East Bay Times reports.

Since June, the Bay Area has seen an increase in the inflation rate of 3.2%, adding to the whopping increase of 3.8% seen in April, according to statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday.

Items blamed for the surging interest rate include electricity, gasoline, natural gas, eggs, fish, meat and poultry, among others.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics also included a one-year summary, ending in June, of price increases over that span of time.

• The price of unleaded gas increased by 41.6%
• Eggs, fish, meat and poultry increased by 5.2%
• The cost of electricity went up by 8.7%
• Natural gas supplied to structures increases by 3.8%
• The average cost of eating out also saw an increase of 4.2%

Christopher Thornberg, economist and founding partner with Beacon Economics, presented words of warning during a presentation to the San Jose State University Economic Summit in late June saying, “Is the risk of inflation higher than we’ve seen in 30 or 40 years? Heck yeah.”

Thornberg explained that he believes inflation in the region may be the worst in decades – even going as far as to compare the current rate of inflation to the brutal increases seen in the 1970s.

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