Rising prices are hitting low-income US households the hardest

The hardest hit by COVID-19 job losses, low-income Americans are now bearing the brunt of price increases as the US economy recovers.

Low-income Americans bore the brunt of job losses when the pandemic arrived. Now they’re getting hit hardest by price increases as the economy recovers. The headline consumer inflation rate in the U.S. remains subdued, at 1.7% – but it masks large differences in what people actually buy. Some of the biggest price hikes of recent months, for example, have come in gasoline. A gallon of regular is up 75 cents since late last year –- adding more than $60 a month to the budget of someone who fills up with 20 gallons a week.