Get Familiar With This Latest Economic Buzzword — Because It's Hurting Your WalletFederal Reserve officials and economists have honed in on another inflation indicator.

ByAmanda Breen

Andriy Onufriyenko | Getty Images

We might be in arolling recessionright now, but what can we expect going forward?

Federal Reserveofficials and economists are trying to figure that out by examining data in new ways, and one of the hottest terms in their lexicon is "supercore inflation," which refers to prices that increase when workers get paid more for their labor,CNNreported.

Related:What New Entrepreneurs Should Know Amid Rising Inflation

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its latestreporton theConsumer Price Index, the most widely used of the monthly inflation gauges, today. The data revealed that the all items index increased 6.4% over the past 12 months before seasonal adjustment.

Although it's well below the 9.1% summer peak, the CPI suggestsinflationis still quite high. But the supercore wage reading, which accounts for the price rises of a range of services — from haircuts to plumbing — has dropped off substantially, from an 8% annual rate in early 2022 to 5% in December, per theWhite House Council of Economic Advisers.

"The Fed focuses on supercore because it includes those prices that are more likely to be driven by the cost of labor, which the Fed can more directly impact through changes in interest rates," Mark Zandi, Moody's chief economist, told CNN, adding that supercore inflation is "still way too hot" but has started to cool off.

Related:Why Customer Communication Is Key, Especially With Inflation

Of course, the supercore inflation measurement doesn't account for categories likehousing, food and energy — recurring expenses for most households — which continue to experience price pressures, per CNN.

Wavy Line
Amanda Breen

Entrepreneur Staff

Features Writer

Amanda Breen is a features writer at Entrepreneur.com. She is a graduate of Barnard College and received an MFA in writing at Columbia University, where she was a news fellow for the School of the Arts.

Editor's Pick

Related Topics

Business News

Kevin O'Leary Slams Anheuser-Busch CEO's Listening Tour, Says It Won't Stop Bud Light Backlash for One Huge Reason

美国安海斯-布希公司首席执行官丹惠氏宣布d plans to hear consumers out this summer.

Data & Recovery

This $20 Training Bundle Could Help Your Freelance IT Business Grow

Hone your cybersecurity chops with this training bundle.

Business News

Netflix is Hiring an AI-Focused Role—and the Starting Salary is up to $900,000

The streaming giant is looking for a leader in its machine learning department.