U.S. inflation in 2021 was the highest since 1982, with December consumer prices up 7% from a year earlier
As prices for groceries, clothing and electronics have gone up in the U.S., similar costs in Japan have stayed low. WSJ’s Peter Landers goes shopping in Tokyo to explain why steady prices, though good for your wallet, can be a sign of a slow-growing economy. Photo: Richard B. Levine/Zuma Press; Kim Kyung Hoon/Reuters
“People frequently say [restaurant and catering workers] are low-price people. Well, our base pay is now $30 an hour for wait staff and we still can’t fill positions,” he said. “This is going to be an ongoing problem. If we want to have the quality staff for the kinds of events that we do, we know we need to pay for it or we aren’t going to get them.”
Demand for autos, furniture and other goods has boomed during the pandemic, straining supply chains and fueling much of the inflation surge. The most prominent example is a shortage of semiconductors that has hamstrung auto production, sending prices for cars and trucks soaring. Economists also expect price pressures from supply constraints to be replaced by higher rent and medical-care costs that tend to be more persistent. Rent, which accounts for nearly one-third of the CPI, has begun accelerating in recent months.