Granite State Times

New Hampshire has reported high inflation and an increasing "misery index" as prices continue to rise across the nation.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Core Personal Consumption Expenditures index rose by the highest rate on record again in September. This is the preferred measure of inflation for the Federal Reserve, according to Fox Business.

In light of the sustained high levels of inflation, former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told Fox Business, "I think we need to put a pause button on government spending [and] get inflation under control." 

In the region that includes New Hampshire, prices rose by between 5.5% and 6%, which is slightly lower than the national average, according to the Wall Street Journal’s regional inflation analysis.

“It’s the exact wrong time to be raising taxes," Mnuchin added, in reference to the recently passed federal infrastructure spending bill.

The “misery index,” a measure of the sum of the inflation rate and unemployment, currently stands at 10.5%, joining the years of the Great Recession as the highest the index has been in decades, ZeroHedge reports. Inflation is expected to fall in the coming months when supply constraints ease. 

In October, the Consumer Price Index increased by 0.6%, surpassing economists’ predictions that it would rise by 0.4%, according to Axios. Overall prices rose by 6.2% compared to a year ago, making it the sharpest annual increase in over 30 years, and fuel prices have skyrocketed by 59.1% since the same time last year.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, real average weekly earnings also decreased by 1.6% over the past year, indicating less spending power for most Americans, considering that the prices of goods and services have gone up over the same time period.