Due to ongoing inflation concerns that have persisted for months now, this year’s Thanksgiving festivities could be the most expensive in years. Price increases are poised to affect all aspects of the holiday, from travel to see loved ones to the price of the turkey day dinner itself.
As is the case for most holidays, consumers feel the economic pain at the pump first. According to data from AAA, the national average price for regular unleaded gas is about $3.42 per gallon. The average is even higher in most of the western United States, as well as the Northeast. Gas prices haven’t been this high for Thanksgiving in seven years.
As for Thanksgiving food prices, the latest consumer price index from the Labor Department has them at 5.4% more expensive than at this time last year. For turkey and ham, that number is 11.9%.
Part of the reason for the increase in meal prices has to do with the production process. Feeding turkeys needed for Thanksgiving has been more expensive due to rising grain prices. The problem is then exacerbated by labor shortages at poultry processing plants.
Even getting cranberry sauce on the table for Thanksgiving will be more expensive. The price of aluminum cans has doubled in the past year.
This year’s potentially expensive Thanksgiving comes a year after the least expensive Thanksgiving in a decade last year.
The labor shortage mentioned earlier may get worse in the coming months. On Friday, the Labor Department announced a record number of Americans quit their jobs for the second straight month.
A department report shows 4.4 million people quit their job in September. That’s a notch higher than the 4.3 million people who quit in August.
“Quits increased in several industries with the largest increases in arts, entertainment, and recreation (+56,000); other services (+47,000); and state and local government education (+30,000),” the report said. “Quits decreased in wholesale trade (-30,000).”
Meanwhile, job openings were just short of a record high. There were 10.4 million openings in September, down from 10.6 million openings in August.
“Job openings increased in health care and social assistance (+141,000); state and local government, excluding education (+114,000); wholesale trade (+51,000); and information (+51,000),” the report said. “Job openings decreased in state and local government education (-114,000); other services (-104,000); real estate and rental and leasing (-65,000); and educational services (-45,000).
