Americans ramped up their spending in August; however, their costs of living were on the rise as food and other goods became even more expensive last month and services prices remained stubbornly high.
New economic data released Friday showed that consumer spending rose 0.6% in the key back-to-school shopping month of August, and 0.4% when adjusting for inflation. That’s further indication that a critical driver of the US economy continues to chug along despite broader uncertainty and a slowdown in the labor market.
However, that spending is increasingly being focused on essential purchases, such as health care, at a time when income gains aren’t keeping up.
At the same time, some prices — including those exposed to steep tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump — are rising faster than they have in months, according to Commerce Department data released Friday.
“Not all households are weathering the tariff storm equally,” EY-Parthenon econom
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