The cost of items spiked last month, representing the highest rate of inflation in 13 years.
The Labor Department on Wednesday reported that prices rose about 5 percent from September 2020 to September 2021. The figure represents the highest rate of inflation since at least December 2008, the earliest date analyzed in the report.
Two of the biggest drivers of inflation, the report found, are food and gasoline.
The Labor Department report is yet more troubling economic news for the Biden administration, which has faced increasing inflation for months. Nearly 80 percent of registered voters blame Biden for the spike, and some economists warn that the president's policies are worsening the problem.
The administration also faces the highest gas prices in six years, and the worst unemployment numbers in a year. And Goldman Sachs economists on Monday cut their economic growth forecasts for 2021 and 2022 because of lagging consuming spending.