SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- San Diegans are continuing to feel the pinch of spiking inflation amid the reopening.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday that prices across-the-board rose 5.4 percent from July 2020 to July 2021, matching the June to June increase as the highest since 2008, the midst of the Great Recession. For measure, the Federal Reserve aims inflation to be about 2 percent annually.
"It looks like prices are going up considerably, but this might just be getting us back to where we would have been without the pandemic," said Alan Gin, economist at the University of San Diego.
Gin said he remains concerned about a 41 percent annual increase in gas prices, which raises the cost of transporting goods - and ultimately the price is passed along to consumers.
The BLS also reported Wednesday that restaurant prices rose 4.6 percent over the year, though groceries rose about half that pace at 2.6 percent. Electric bills jumped 4 percent, used car prices rose 41 percent, while apparel was up 4.2 percent.
"Everyone has a certain budget that they have to live with and I'm like any other shopper, I'm like wow that's gone up," said Adam Zack, owner of Jensen's Foods in Point Loma.
Zack said he's seen the biggest increases in meat and spice prices, and that there was a recent shortage of soy sauce.
He noted the price for wood pallets used to transport groceries has increased from $7 to $15, a cost that gets passed along to customers.
Zack said he has made some changes on the items he stocks, such as selling cheeses from producers that do not need to be shipped from as far away.
In San Diego County, prices rose 6 percent July to July, faster than the country as a whole, the BLS also reported Wednesday.
