On Monday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that the Biden administration is expecting Wednesday’s inflation report to show that inflation in the United States has continued to worsen.
“So, on Wednesday, we will have new CPI inflation data, and we expect the headline number, which includes gas and food, to be highly elevated, mainly because gas prices were so elevated in June,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “Gas and food prices continue to be heavily impacted by the war in Ukraine. And there are a few important points to keep in mind when we get this backwards-looking data.”
Jean-Pierre then attempted to argue the inflation report that has not yet been released is “already out of date” because gas prices have slightly decreased from their peak in June.
“The President’s number one economic priority is tackling inflation. And looking ahead, there are a number of reasons why we expect those high prices to ease over the coming months,” Jean-Pierre added. “Our administration will continue driving structural change to produce lower prices, higher wages, and to make our economy dynamic and competitive.”
Wednesday’s report on the consumer price index in June is expected to show inflation rising beyond May’s 8.6% level, which was already the largest 12-month increase in prices since December 1981.
Due to the record high inflation level, the real wages of American workers decreased. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “From May 2021 to May 2022, real average hourly earnings decreased 2.5 percent, seasonally adjusted. The change in real average hourly earnings combined with a decrease of 0.6 percent in the average workweek resulted in a 3.0-percent decrease in real average weekly earnings over this period.”
