Inflation rates are dropping nationally. What about in the Puget Sound region?
After a year of skyrocketing prices, national inflation has dropped to its lowest levels since March 2021. In the Seattle area, the numbers are taking a similar dip.
According to new Bureau of Labor Statistics data released July 12, national prices rose by 3% in June. The Seattle area, which includes Seattle, Bellevue and Tacoma, saw a 4.6% price increase from the previous year, marking its lowest 12-month percent change since April 2021. That means prices are still rising – but now at a slower rate than before.
One major influence on the Seattle area’s June inflation rate was its high cost of shelter, Bureau of Labor Statistics regional commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted in a press release. Over the last year, housing prices increased by 1.5 points more in the Seattle area than nationally.
“The largest proportion of consumer expenditures for most people has to do with shelter, so when the shelter index moves, it’s going to move the all-items index floor more than, say, recreation,” said David Kong, a Bureau of Labor Statistics statistician.
Although many goods and services have become more expensive since last year, some – including energy and transportation – have gotten cheaper. In the past two months, local energy and transportation prices saw an uptick, Kong said, likely due to the increased cost of gasoline. During the same time period, food, apparel, recreation, medical care and education and communication prices dropped in the Seattle area.
This story was originally published July 16, 2023 at 7:05 AM.
