for your time and insights.
Last month, we spoke with the
bandy family in Michigan, who
have been struggling to make
ends meet with soaring prices on
everything from groceries to
gas.
Since then, the burden of record
high inflation has continued to
push the limits for people
across the country.
We spoke to a handful of
Americans who have been
grappling with a higher cost of
living.
Here is some of what they said.
Vanessa: Inflation has just kind
of made, you know, being a
single mom with two kids just
that much harder.
It wasn't easy anyways.
We weren't, you know, rich.
I work in a school.
But, it's just pushed everything
to the point of, you know, week
by week, day by day, I'm looking
at the dollars trickle out of my
account.
Kevin: I actually am leaving
teaching because I can't make
enough money.
So I cleaned up my classroom
yesterday.
I actually am going to make more
money managing a storage unit
than I am teaching.
Joseph: In August, I had a
medical emergency which required
emergency surgery.
At the time, I had insurance,
although I'm still paying those
bills now.
Just an extra monthly bill that
wasn't there before.
And on top of a higher cost of
living, higher cost of
transportation, higher cost of
food, to have that medical
expense on top of it has made
things more difficult.
Heidi: The truth is, I don't
foresee that we could continue
the way we are in another year.
Like, it seems like if the costs
continue to go up at the rate
they have been going, that so
many families are struggling
around us, and ourselves
included, I can't even imagine
where we would be in a year.
Nichoel: What other option is
there?
We can't give up.
We have kids.
It just means that it's going to
-- it's going to result in us
having less to give to them.
Vanessa: I don't know.
Like, it doesn't seem that this
problem is going to go away
anytime soon, and that's really
scary.
Geoff: It's clear that the
realities many Americans face
are vastly different from some
of the economic indicators on
paper.
The latest example?
The U.S. Added 390,000 new jobs
last month, and the unemployment
rate remained steady.
To help us put this all into
context, we're joined by NPR
business correspondent David
Gura.
And David, it's great to have
you with us.
And look, this new jobs report
is strong.
There has been hiring across
most sectors, a robust
390,000 new jobs, but you heard
the stories from folks all
across the country just now.
They're concerned.
Inflation is eating into their
livelihoods.
What tools do the Biden
administration and the federal
reserve have to address this at
this point?
David: We'll start with the fed,
geoff, and it's great to be with
you.
The federal reserve is
increasing interest rates.
It's administering this medicine
to the U.S. Economy to try to
cool down the economy and what's
tricky about that is it doesn't
want to do it too much so much
so that it would tip the economy
into a deep downturn, or
recession.
You asked the white house, and
here, the president's hands are
kind of tied, and he's
acknowledged this in speeches
he's given in recent days,
including one after the release
of those jobs numbers.
What they want to see is these
prices start to slow and you
know he's trying to do some
things
he and his administration have
tried to do some things.
Tapping the strategic petroleum
reserve, for one, and trying to
iron out some of the problems
with the supply chain, which has
contributed to high inflation.
But, his options are limited.
He wants to convey to the
American people that he hears
their complaints.
He hears the worries the likes
of which we just heard a moment
ago, and he and his
administration are taking this
seriously.
But all the while, I think
there's some acknowledgement
that this is a difficult road
that they're going down right
now.
Geoff: Into your point, there is
this quandary that if you're
Jerome Powell running this
economy, you don't want to
actually see 390,000 new jobs
because that raises wage
pressure and that drives
inflation.
And that takes direct aim what
the fed is trying to achieve.
David: Yeah, he's in a very
tricky position here, to put it
mildly.
The whole federal reserve board
is, for the point that you
raised, which is, again, they're
trying to -- they're trying to
slow or cool the economy just
just a little bit here.
The fear is that we get into
this spiral and, you know, the
headlines attract the most
attention here -- that the
unemployment rate was stable at
3.6%, or that we had the
addition of these 390,000 jobs.
But, the underlying data matter
just as much, if not more, and
wages is something of chief
concern to the fed.
And you know, those have picked
up over the course of the last
year.
They've started to diminish a
little bit over these last few
months, but certainly wages
haven't kept up with the pace of
inflation, so, it's incredibly
complicated and you're right,
people are looking at this from
different perspectives.
And, you know, where Americans
might want to see their wages
keeping up with the price of
inflation, as you say that's
not what the fed is hoping
happens at this point in time,
geoff.
Geoff: As you mentioned,
president Biden, he addressed
the may jobs report and he gave
us a sense of what to expect in
the months ahead.
Take a listen.
Pres. Biden: And, as we move to
a new period of stable, steady
growth, we should expect to see
more moderation.
We aren't likely to see the kind
of blockbuster job reports month
after month, like we had over
this past year.
But that's a good thing.
That's a sign of a healthy
economy.
Geoff: So what happens then,
David?
If the job market cools off,
hiring cools off, but prices
remain high.
David: A really difficult time
for Americans.
It's going to set us on the path
for recession, which is what
certainly the president fears
the most, all policymakers fear
the most, Wall Street fears the
most as well.
There's been extreme volatility
because there is this fear, yes,
of inflation, of prices going
up, but also a worry that the
federal reserve isn't going to
be able to slow those those
rising prices.
You know, you listen to the
chorus of investors and analysts
and executives as they talk
about this.
There is a growing chorus of
those who fear that we are on
the path toward recession.
I should say that there are
others who don't think that the
data are indicating that or
leading us down that path, but
that is what's driving, by and
large, a lot of volatility that
we've seen.
This fear that there could be a
downturn as a result of all of
this, and so what you describe,
geoff, is certainly something
that would lead to to a deep
downturn or recession and again,
that's something that nobody
wants to see.
Of course, that is cyclical and
it happens, but it's certainly
something that the federal
reserve chair wants to avoid as
it goes forward.
Geoff: NPR business
correspondent David Gura.