Grocery Jobs Wilting from Rising Food Prices

The soaring price of food could eventually have a negative effect on grocery jobs (Click here).

The most recent Consumer Price Index from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the food index increased by .6 percent during February, with the food at home index growing by .8 percent.

The majority of the grocery store food groups saw their indexes increase as well, with fruits and vegetables up 2.2 percent; meats, poultry, fish, and eggs up 1.2 percent; dairy and related products up .6 percent; other food at home up .6 percent; and nonalcoholic beverages up .2 percent. The cereals and bakery products group was the only one that remained unchanged during February.

On a yearly basis, the index for food at home has increased by 2.8 percent, with the indexes of all six grocery store food groups growing. The index for food away from home increased by .2 percent during February and by 1.6 percent over the year.

Those increases are bad news for the grocery store industry, because as food prices increase, stores are forced to raise the price of their products. That means consumers end up paying for the difference, and if people begin cutting back, it could ultimately result in job losses.

This downward trend is already effecting jobs in Denver, where stores and restaurants alike are having to increase the prices of their goods, according to the Denver Business Journal.

And it doesn't look like the picture will improve anytime soon, as the Denver Post reports that the cost of food in restaurants and grocery stores is expected to increase by a total of 3 percent to 4 percent this year.