Daily household costs continue to increase for American families as shown in today’s Consumer Price Index data release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

While headline CPI came in at an increase of 0.2 percent, housing costs – including energy costs – increased at an even higher rate of inflation.

Given that the average American family spends well over a third of their monthly budget on housing, any increase in the category further squeezes the limited funds of many households.

 The index for shelter rose 0.3 percent in April, accounting for more than half of the overall monthly increase in all items.

Surprisingly, given the Trump administration’s push for increased US energy production, which it claims will lower costs for Americans, the energy index also rose over the month, increasing 0.7 percent.

Most of the increase in energy costs was directly linked to the natural gas index and the electricity index, both of which are essential for households’ heating and lighting.  

The index for electricity increased 3.6 percent over the last 12 months, and the index for natural gas has risen by a whopping 15.7 percent!

Further categories that increased included household furnishings and operations, medical care, motor vehicle, insurance, education, and personal care. All are key to household operations.

While month-over-month food inflation stabilized, with food at home decreasing by 0.4 percent and food away from home rising by 0.4 percent, the reality is that the food index has increased by 2.8 percent over the last year.

The index for food at home rose 2.0 percent over the last 12 months. The meats, poultry, fish, and eggs index rose 7.0 percent in the previous 12 months as the eggs index increased 49.3 percent.

Trump’s administration will no doubt focus on the headline CPI and tout the marginal increase as a win for its policies; the reality is that life is still becoming increasingly expensive in America.

Ultimately, families – particularly low-income families – are far worse off financially today than they were just one year ago.