4.2% Inflation on a 3.4% Wage Budget. Your Margin Is Shrinking in Three Places at Once.
May's CPI print means your labor costs are rising in real terms even if your payroll looks flat, your supply chain is passing through fuel surcharges you didn't budget for, and the Fed just made your variable-rate debt more expensive to carry. The squeeze is simultaneous, and the math gets worse depending on where you sit in the chain.