Surging consumer prices and gasoline shortages have sparked concerns the U.S. economy could relive the nightmarish stagflation of President Jimmy Carter’s administration in the late 1970s.
Stagflation is defined as a period of inflation with declining economic output.
The economy under Carter experienced inflation and unemployment that were both in the double digits as the result of an oil price shock that began when Iranian oil workers went on strike.
"Six months ago, America was energy-independent. Now we have gas lines," tweeted House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. "President Biden is well on his way to creating another Jimmy Carter economy."
Gas stations across the East Coast have for the last week faced fuel shortages and long lines after the 5,500-mile Colonial Pipeline, which supplies almost half the region’s supply, was taken offline by hackers. The outages evoked memories of the gas lines that occurred during the sharp drop in Iranian oil production at the end of the Carter administration.
Additionally, a Labor Department report released last week showed core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.9% in April, the most since September 1982, when the U.S. economy was emerging from its decade-long bout with stagflation. Annually, prices were up 4.2%, the biggest increase since September 2008.
Rising consumer prices aren’t the only worry for economists, who are also assessing the possibility of a slowing U.S. economy.
The labor market last month added a disappointing 266,000 jobs as the unemployment rate ticked up to 6.1%. Economists surveyed by Refinitiv were anticipating the addition of 978,000 jobs as the unemployment rate fell to 5.8%. This as manufacturers are grappling with supply shortages caused by the pandemic.
Stagflation is defined as a period of inflation with declining economic output.
The economy under Carter experienced inflation and unemployment that were both in the double digits as the result of an oil price shock that began when Iranian oil workers went on strike.
"Six months ago, America was energy-independent. Now we have gas lines," tweeted House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. "President Biden is well on his way to creating another Jimmy Carter economy."
Gas stations across the East Coast have for the last week faced fuel shortages and long lines after the 5,500-mile Colonial Pipeline, which supplies almost half the region’s supply, was taken offline by hackers. The outages evoked memories of the gas lines that occurred during the sharp drop in Iranian oil production at the end of the Carter administration.
Additionally, a Labor Department report released last week showed core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.9% in April, the most since September 1982, when the U.S. economy was emerging from its decade-long bout with stagflation. Annually, prices were up 4.2%, the biggest increase since September 2008.
Rising consumer prices aren’t the only worry for economists, who are also assessing the possibility of a slowing U.S. economy.
The labor market last month added a disappointing 266,000 jobs as the unemployment rate ticked up to 6.1%. Economists surveyed by Refinitiv were anticipating the addition of 978,000 jobs as the unemployment rate fell to 5.8%. This as manufacturers are grappling with supply shortages caused by the pandemic.
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