Jul 2, 2021 5:42 PM EDT
The U.S. economy is awakening from a coma.
That was the analogy used by more than one economist who spoke with the PBS NewsHour about the uptick in consumer prices that Americans have experienced over the past few months one year after the coronavirus pandemic brought the economy to a grinding halt.
The prices of goods and services in the U.S. rose by 5 percent in May from the previous year, marking the highest inflation rate recorded since 2008. The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report released on June 10 immediately sent some investors and lawmakers into a tailspin over concerns that high inflation figures could negatively affect the stock market, or lead to a price spiral not unlike what happened in the 1970s, when double-digit inflation led to long lines at gas stations and boycotts over the high cost of food.
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UM report: Oakland County s economy won t fully recover until 2023
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Pontiac University of Michigan economists predicted Wednesday that aspects of Oakland County’s economy should rebound faster than the rest of the state following the COVID-19 pandemic, but a full recovery will take a couple of years.
Donald Grimes and Gabriel Ehrlich presented the 36th Annual UM Economic Forecast, which expects Oakland County to return to its pre-pandemic employment level by early 2023 and the state to do so later that year. Grimes said the county one of the most populated and prosperous in Michigan should see the number of jobs grow 4.1% this year; 4.6% next year and 2.5% in 2023, where county unemployment is expected to be well below 3%, near the record low of 1999.
Oakland County has been weathering the pandemic storm, with forecasts calling for the jobless rate to decline-and jobs to recover-slightly faster than.