The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) latest Consumer Price Index for May shows an 8.6% inflation rate, a 40-year high, while Georgia's rate is even higher, according to Trading Economics.

On June 10, BLS released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for the 12 months ending May 2022. The data showed a 0.3% climb from April, a new four-decade high. The largest contributors were increases in the indexes for shelter, gasoline and food.

After dropping in April, the index for gasoline climbed 4.1% during May, up 48.7% in the last 12 months, according to CPI data. During the month of April, the shelter index increased 0.6%, the largest monthly increase since March 2004. The food index also rose 1.2% in May, while the food at home index increased 1.4%.

Trading Economics reported that Georgia's inflation rate is significantly higher than the national average at 13.3%.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the CPI's 8.6% year-over-year increase represents the fastest pace since December 1981. The Wall Street Journal report said May’s increase was driven, in part, by sharp rises in costs for energy, which climbed 34.6% from last year, and groceries, which rose 11.9% on the year, the biggest increase since 1979.

Georgia's gas price average, which sits at $4.48 per gallon, has risen 58 cents in the last month, according to AAA.

According to FiveThirtyEight poll results, President Joe Biden's approval rating is 39.7%, while 53.6% disapprove of his performance.

Fox News reports that Biden continues to place blame on Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine for the country's inflationary problem. Following the Labor Department's inflation announcement, Biden said the U.S. "has never seen anything like Putin’s tax on both food and gas."