WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Joint Economic Committee released its Monthly Inflation Update for August, showing that consumer prices continued to rise, in line with projections.  

Headline Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) increased by 0.40 percent in August and rose to 3.40 percent over the past year. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.29 percent in August, higher than expected, and rose to 2.45 percent over the past year. Energy price inflation increased 2.10 percent in August and was up 16.28 percent over the past year. Food price inflation rose 0.12 percent in August and was up 2.67 percent over the past year. 

Inflation varied by region, with annual headline CPI inflation highest in the Northeast (3.9 percent), then the Midwest (3.6 percent), followed by the West (3.2 percent) and the South (3.1 percent).

In August, month over month real earnings were mostly steady. Real average weekly earnings for all employees increased 0.16 percent, while real average hourly earnings decreased 0.09 percent.

For the full update, visit: https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/republicans/inflation-update 

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