After keeping interest rates near zero since early in the pandemic to heal the economy and bolster the job market, the Federal Reserve has transformed suddenly into an inflation-fighting machine.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday she was confident the Federal Reserve and the Biden administration would take steps needed to bring down inflation over the course of 2022, provided the COVID-19 pandemic is brought under control.

This week the government announced that the inflation rate – as per its Consumer Price Index – has reached 7 percent, the highest it’s been since 1982.  But ask any business owner and they’ll tell you that the consumer price index only tells us about the past. 

Inflation plowed ahead at its fastest 12-month pace in nearly 40 years during December, according to a closely watched gauge the Labor Department released Wednesday.

Warning that high inflation could make it harder to restore the job market to full health, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday that the Fed will raise interest rates faster than it now plans if needed to stem surging prices.

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 199,000 in December, and the unemployment rate declined to 3.9 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment continued to trend up in leisure and hospitality, in professional and business services, in manufacturing, in construction, and in transportation and warehousing.