October’s 6.2% increase in prices was the highest since 1990, though it was still well below the double-digit inflation of 1979-81. This has shifted public focus away from jobs and toward prices.
In the latest Economist/YouGov Poll, three times as many Americans (36%) call inflation a bigger economic problem than joblessness (11%), though 43% think both are equally serious. That ratio is up from two to one last month (30% to 16%). And like last month, more than twice as many Americans say that prices of goods and services are the best indicator of the state of the economy than name the unemployment rate and job reports as the best indicators.
High inflation can spell trouble for political leaders as well as for the public. In the 1980 presidential election, high inflation helped Ronald Reagan defeat the Democratic incumbent, Jimmy Carter.
Most Americans say they have seen prices for gas and food go up “a lot” in the last year. Half say housing costs also have risen a lot.
How rising prices affect Americans
Those who say they feel the increases the most are those with the lowest incomes. The top price increases when it comes to causing distress are increases in the price of gasoline and food: 56% are having difficulty affording gas, and more than half say they are having difficulty affording food.
Housing costs rank third in posing difficulties: Just under half of Americans say they are having difficulty paying their housing costs. Among people with family incomes below $50,000, two-thirds say they are having difficulty paying for gas and food, and 60% say they are having difficulty affording their housing.
Most Americans also say they are worrying about paying these costs in the future.
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