Inflation hits 40-year high of 7.9% as war adds to problems

Inflation in the U.S. has hit another grim level by rising to 7.9% in February, the highest since January 1982. The data was released as Russia’s war in Ukraine rages and interest-rate hikes by the Federal Reserve are expected. On Thursday, the U.S. Labor Department reported its monthly reading of the CPI, which showed inflation rose to 0.8% between January and February. Analysts cite sanctions against Russia for the latest spike but there are multiple factors working against the economic recovery.

SEE HOW RUSSIA'S INVASION IMPACTS THE US ECONOMY

Russia's invasion has destroyed $100B in Ukrainian assets

In addition to the human and economic devastation caused by the Russian invasion, the war has so far destroyed about $100 billion in roads, bridges and businesses in Ukraine, dealing a huge hit to its economy. A Kyiv government official said Thursday that "the situation in terms of economic growth, is going to be really very depressing, even if the war immediately stops." Unfortunately, there is no end in sight as peace talks have proven fruitless.

SEE HOW THE WORLD IS CHIPPING IN TO SAVE UKRAINE

'Great Resignation' continues to plague labor shortage

Despite the number of job openings in January being higher than the number of unemployed Americans, workers are still quitting in droves. The "Great Resignation" continues to plague the U.S. worker shortage as the Bureau of Labor Statistics found Wednesday that for January “the number of job openings was little changed at 11.3 million.” Total hires and separations were also little changed “at 6.5 million and 6.1 million,” respectively.

SEE HOW THE GREAT RESIGNATION REMAINS A FACTOR