As inflation continues to reach highs it hasn’t hit in over 40 years – the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is at 8.5% annualized – the outlook for ending the labor shortage anytime soon doesn’t look any better. The unemployment rate dropped to 3.6% at the end of March, while net restaurant employment rose by 61,000…
Read More »The United States Department of Labor reported yesterday that consumer prices rose 0.8 percent in February and 7.9 percent over the last 12 months. The consumer price index (CPI), the key gauge of inflation, showed price growth speeding up on both a monthly and annual basis. The all-item index rising almost 8% annually is the…
Read More »Inflation is showing no signs of letting up anytime soon as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 0.5 percent from November to December 2021. Despite the fact that average hourly earnings for all employees increased 0.1 percent over the same time period, the record inflation rate over…
Read More »Remember the good ol’ days when elected officials threatened to increase minimum wages to $10.10 per hour? The rapidly-approaching New Year is a natural time for salary increases, and it is indeed the time when most minimum wage laws – at the state and local levels – provide for increases. In fact, more than half…
Read More »The omicron and delta variants of the COVID virus may be slowing the nation’s economic recovery, but they are not slowing down the inflation rates at all. In fact, the Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported this week that the producer price index (PPI) – inflation before reaching the consumer – rose…
Read More »Consumer prices grew much faster than expected in October, according to data released this week by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.9 percent last month and was 6.2 percent higher that it was in October 2020, the largest annual increase in 30 years! Generally speaking, analysts were expecting…
Read More »While many of today’s younger workers – and voters – may not have experienced the bite of inflation eating more of their compensation, those of us who more clearly understand the meaning and impact of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) are already seeing some effect from inflation. Among the many states, counties and cities that…
Read More »Inflation concerns are back in a real way as consumer prices rose 0.9 percent for the month of June according to data released this week by the Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to an annualized rate of 5.4 percent, and for the month, almost doubled the projected…
Read More »As we move closer to a complete reopening of the American economy in the wake of decreasing COVID -19 infections and increasing citizens being fully vaccinated, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) information is getting much more play in news cycles – and for a bunch of not-so-encouraging reasons. First off, the labor shortage appears to…
Read More »As we get closer to the turn of the calendar to 2021, many laws and regulatory requirements will change along with the New Year. It is not too early to focus on the specific changes that will impact your business and, over the course of the remaining issues of Small Regular No Sugar! that publish…
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