Five ways Americans will feel the latest interest rate hike
STORY: "So how do we get rid of inflation? As I mentioned, it would be nice if there were a way to just wish it away, but there isn't."
The Fed delivered its third straight 75-basis point interest hike this week
Here are five ways that might affect Americans:
1. Unemployment will rise, with inflation still high
Unemployment is currently very low at 3.7% - but it could rise to 4.4% by the end of next year
In the last three recessions, the jobless rate peaked at 14.7%, 9.5% and 5.5%
None of those were preceded by inflation anywhere as high as today
2. Wage growth will slow, with fewer job openings
Wages grew at a 5.2% annual rate in August, with lowest paid workers seeing the biggest bump
But policymakers are trying to tamp it down - they say the pace of growth may lead to a spiral of higher inflation
3. Saving rates will rise, but so will rates on consumer loans
Households will get a bump in the interest rate on savings accounts
But finance companies will be raising THEIR rates on most consumer and auto loans too
4. Buying a home will be less affordable, while rents continue to rise
The housing market is where the rate hikes have hit the hardest and fastest
Mortgage rates doubled in just over eight months
The current average is 6.25% for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage
Meanwhile rental prices climbed an average of 6.4% in August from the previous year
"Food has definitely gone up a lot. I just got groceries and usually what happens to be like about $130 was like $200."
5. There's not much the Fed can do about gas and food prices
It's the everyday prices that Americans perhaps care most about - but they're beyond the Fed's reach
Gas prices, which spiked in the U.S. due to the war in Ukraine, have been on 11 straight weeks of decline
But the war, as well as severe droughts in Europe and China, will keep food prices high in America