Inflation Reaches 30-Year High

The annual inflation rate last month hit its highest point in more than 30 years, according to a Labor Department report.

The prices of consumer goods were 6.2 percent higher in October than they were a year earlier. The last time the annual inflation rate was that high was November 1990, according to the Labor Department data, which were released Wednesday.

October also saw prices rise 0.9 percent from the month prior. The highest inflation was in the energy sector, where the price of gasoline rose nearly 50 percent from last year and the price of oil rose nearly 60 percent.

Food prices have also risen dramatically, particularly prices of meats and other animal products. The cost of beef is up 20 percent from last year.

Inflation has been compounded by supply-chain issues, including bottlenecks at container ports and labor shortages in the transportation sector. White House press secretary Jen Psaki last month downplayed the crisis, joking about “the tragedy of the treadmill that’s delayed.”

An October Morning Consult/Politico poll found that 62 percent of registered voters blame the Biden administration’s policies for the high inflation.