Episode 1: Inflation spikes to highest levels since 2008 crisis

The latest federal report suggests more troubles for the U.S. economy, even as experts hoped for a post-COVID economic surge.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics Thursday released new data showing a major spike in inflation, the largest since the financial crisis from over a decade ago.

Some goods increased in price more than others. Household furnishings saw “its largest monthly increase since January 1976” and new vehicles increased 1.6% in May, its “largest 1-month increase since October 2009.”

The inflation report comes one day after the U.S. Department of Labor showed disappointing job creation for the month of May. The U.S economy added only 559,000 nonfarm jobs last month, short of 650,000 predicted by economists. Unemployment for the month was 5.8%.

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