What would you do with the extra $5,000? Well, given our current economic situation, many of us could answer: “I would pay a few bills, for example.”
It’s a little unpleasant to realize that if it weren’t for the economic climate in Illinois, you would already have the very $5,000 that we are talking about.
To keep up with the rising costs since last June, the average Illinois worker would have to raise his salary by at least $5,920. But instead, according to a report on IllinoisPolicy.org , this salary increase was just over $3,057 (raise your hands — how many of you got this at all?).
If we analyze all the price increases due to inflation in our state, Illinois residents pay $4,675 more for the same goods and services this year, if we compare with 2022.
Most likely, you know perfectly well that Illinois residents are facing the highest inflation rate in the last 40 years.
Bryce Hill of Illinois Policy, analyzing data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, indicates how many additional expenses were added to the expenses of the average Illinois employee over the past year:
- Gasoline: $1,483;
- Accommodation: $929;
- Products: $522;
- Utilities: $387;
- Home Furniture: $206;
- Eating Out: $202;
- And the terrible “Other” category: $947.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that on average prices increased by 9.1% from June 2021 to June 2022, and there are no signs of stabilization for a long time.