What March's inflation numbers mean for the restaurant industryWhat March's inflation numbers mean for the restaurant industry

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index, released Wednesday morning, shows inflation is up 5% year-over-year, and 0.1% versus last month’s numbers. This marks the lowest CPI number since May 2021, which was also at 5%.

The biggest takeaway from the report is that food-away-from-home prices are up 8.8% year-over-year, increasing by 0.6% on the month. Broken down by segment, limited-service menu prices are up 7.9% year-over-year (0.5% month-over-month), while full-service prices are 8% higher versus March 2022 (0.7% month-over-month).

Executive editor Alicia Kelso has more.