Signs of Inflation
With a record number of vacancies, businesses report that they are raising pay and offering special bonuses for hiring, and several very large companies, including Amazon and McDonald’s, have increased wages amid a shortage of workers. Over time, inflation could be locked in by a “wage-price” loop, where workers anticipating higher costs ask for higher wages, and businesses factor those new expenses into their prices, creating a need for even higher wages to keep up.
Many economists believe this increased income will spur another Roaring ’20s. After being cooped up, consumers will want to party, spending down the entire savings pile. If this happens, demand could stay high for a long time, keeping up the pressure on supply and wages. Add in companies investing to try to catch up with demand and the conditions would be in place for a boom, with inflation continuing.
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