Consumer Prices Rise on Gasoline and Clothing

Normally in the U.S. economy, many people hear the word "inflation" and wonder how much prices will go up again....but this hasn't been the case in the recent economic situation. Deflation, or the fall of prices, is occuring more than ever and in the last months of 2008, financial analysts saw the prices going down and saw a higher risk for deflation. But, according to the Consumer Price Index, the 0.4 percent in February and 0.3 percent in January, and the core index at at a 0.2 percent increase. This applies to all things other than gas and clothing related goods, so that leaves us thinking, how will our fuel and apparel prices change in the near future?

Gas prices have recently risen 8.3 percent after a steady decrease at the end of 2008 and prices seem to possibly continue increasing in the future. Although the average price of gas right now is down to $1.92 per gallon compared to $3.28 a year ago, compared to other prices in the economy, gas is on the rise. Apparel products is the other category seeing inflation, and the apparel index rose 1.3 percent, probably from the deep discounts offered by retailers after the holidays.

Many analysts say that consumers shouldn't worry, despite the U.S. economy being at the lowest in history since the Great Depression and many think that the inflation rates will rise 0.3 to 1 percent over the next year while the economy searches for a low-point that will be the bottom of our current version of the Depression.

So what will happen to our prices in the future? Don't expect too much of a change in prices at the grocery store or at your local Wal-Mart, but as always, don't be suprised by the price at the gas pump that make make one think again about the benefits of using a bicycle.

This article can be found at : http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/business/economy/19econ.html?_r=1&ref=business

Unemployment Rates Growing

The current economic situations has a lot of people shaken up and wondering if their jobs will be the next to go. According to an article in the NY Times today, men are actually feeling the unemployment hit more than women. Men's unemployment rate is starting to grow more than women's and at a much faster rate. Although unemployment rates for both men and women continues to grow, women seem to be holding on more than men.

Another reasons people are losing their jobs is not having a college degree. Many have said in recent years how vital it is for young adults to get their higher education degrees, and those who haven't went to college are feeling the burden. Although the unemployment rate for college grads is still at a slight increase, those without degrees are still being hit the hardest.

It's hard to find something good with the current economic situation in the U.S., but the good news is that there hasn't been an increase of jobs lost in the past few months. In January, 655,00 lost their jobs, compared with 651,000 in February, and hopefully the numbers for March will continue to go down. Also, people who still have their jobs have continued to get pay raises because they are most likely do more work than they were prior to all the layoffs due to employees jobs being cut. These employees say the extra money in a hard economy means a lot, even if it means doing more work.

As a senior who will graduate in May, I have been on the search for a job for the last few months and without a whole lot of progress being made. Having said this, I am still optimistic that something will work out and with my experience and academic achievements, I will obtain a job that will help me someday get to where I want to be in a great company.