Inflation Hikes Costs On Local Industries

(CBS DETROIT) - If you've been shopping recently, then you probably noticed prices on average are rising.

The prices are taking a toll on goods and services across the board and taking a toll on your wallet.

University of Michigan Economic Forecaster Gabriel Ehrlich says inflation is up 7.9% right now, which is the fastest rate in almost 40 years.

"The prices haven't been even throughout the economy, but they are spreading to cover more and more of the economy," Ehrlich explained.

Ehrlich says local increases are especially high in energy, grocery stores and auto production.

"If you've gone shopping for an automobile recently, new or especially used prices have just been going through the roof, and then finally we have seen some high inflation in services that you might think of as affected by the pandemic, so things like airfare, hotels," Ehrlich said.

Shama Mounzer from Wayne Metro Community Action Agency says the organization has seen an increase in social service requests as a result of the pandemic, and now inflation is adding more volume to the demand.

"At the beginning of the pandemic, the most needed services were, number one was food and two was utilities," Mounzer said.

"Right now, we're looking at the data now we see more of utilities is still pretty high, but now it's more eviction prevention services, homeless prevention services."

Families in need of help can contact Wayne Metro by visiting waynemetro.org.

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