Two Decades Of Inflation

After being largely dormant for the last decade, inflation roared back in 2021 due to various factors related to the pandemic and economic recovery. For perspective, it may be helpful to look at inflation over a longer period of time. During the 20-year period ending September 2021, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), often called headline inflation, rose a total of 53.8%. While the prices of some items tracked the broad index, others increased or decreased at much different rates.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021 (data through September 2021)