As prices at the grocery store come down, you might still see big bills if you dine out
There was some good news Tuesday, with reports that inflation is slowing down — May showed the lowest 12-month rate in more than two years.
Pao-Lin Tien, an assistant professor of economics at George Washington University, said prices on things like eggs and other grocery items are now dropping after a couple years of high grocery bills.
“For a lot of products, I think it’s actually a negative number now. We’re seeing prices starting to come down,” Tien said. “For some items, it was because of supply chain issues. For other items, it was just really very strong demand.”
While that’s a relief, for those who go out to eat or order from a food delivery service, there could be an increase in charges and prices on your bill that last for awhile.
Inflation slowed to 4% in May, below April’s 4.9% annual rise.
“We still have a relatively tight labor market with low unemployment. So it’s a little tougher to find workers, therefore wages remain high. A lot of businesses will pass on those higher wage costs on to the consumers as well,” Tien said.
When might we see those costs go down?
“If everybody is still feeling like they are, they’ve been cooped up for too long at home because of COVID. Everyone wants to go out and have a good time, then those prices are probably going to remain high, for a little longer.”