Old North News

The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers are out for the month of July; and although the reported inflation number is marginally lower than last month, the indexes for some crucial categories increased.

Among the increases in inflation for July were food and shelter—two large components of North Carolinians' median household budget.

On Wednesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the CPI data for the 12 months ending July 2022. The data showed an 8.5% all items annual increase, which represents a 0.6% drop from last month. Some of the largest contributors were increases in the index for food, shelter and electricity.

"Inflation is a tax on ALL Americans," House Republicans said in a Wednesday Twitter post. "In July: Gasoline was UP 44.0% Electricity was UP 15.2% Food at home was UP 13.1% New Cars were UP 0.4% Transportation was UP +9.2% Food away from home was UP 7.6% Used Cars were UP 6.6% Shelter was UP 5.7%"

Food and shelter are among the largest parts of the median household budget, making up 46.8% of the total, a report from The Ascent said. Shelter is the highest average cost at $1,784 per month and is 35% of the average budget. Americans spend approximately $610 on food per month, which is 8% of the budget.

The index for food climbed 1.1% in the last month and 10.9% in the last year. The index for shelter climbed 0.5% in the last month and 5.7% in the last year. The index for electricity climbed 1.6% in the last month and 15.2% in the last year.

The high price of groceries is a common concern for many Americans. Last month the food at home index did not slow down. In fact, it rose 13.1% over the last 12 months, representing the largest 12-month increase since the period ending March 1979.

The average housing cost in North Carolina ranges from $732 to $1,333 per month, a December SoFi report said. The average monthly (non-restaurant) food cost in the state is approximately $289 per person.