Washington Public Sector Labor Negotiations Blog
Trends and Developments Concerning Washington Public Labor Contracts
By Jim Cline
The latest CPI report continued to show high inflation numbers, even higher than the previous set. But inside those numbers were signs that the predicted slow down in inflation may lie ahead. The Seattle 12-month through April to April “W” index was reported at an eye-popping 8.1%. The All Cities index was even higher at 8.6%:
By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
In the last two newsletters, we reported on the surprisingly sharp rise in inflation and how that development and the uncertainty in future inflation predictions would have a potentially large impact on wage negotiations. The jump in inflation suggests rising settlements but other developments likewise support our prediction that settlements for 2022 (and 2023) will be heading up.
By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
In our last Newsletter, we report on the just-released June CPI numbers. As we indicated, while we had expected a sharp rise, the size of the rise caught us (and most economists) by surprise. The June national and Seattle indices exceeded 6% as did other regional CPI measures.
