According to a study, the strongest inflation in the USA in decades is partly due to the unprecedented number of job changes.
"Workers' propensity to look for another job is a major driver of inflation," said Leonardo Melosi, chief economist at the Chicago Fed and co-author of the study.
This drove the inflation rate up by around one percentage point last year.
The job changes, which often go hand in hand with higher wage demands, accounted for about a fifth of the price increase at times.
The number of job changes increased sharply in the past year: on average, almost four million Americans quit their jobs every month – often in search of better pay or more flexibility.
At the same time, many employers try to dissuade their employees from changing jobs by offering higher salaries.
In January, average hourly wages increased by an average of 5.7 percent compared to the same period last year.
Companies, in turn, are attempting to pass on increased labor costs to their customers, which has helped drive consumer price increases.
If the number of job changes eases as the corona pandemic abates, this could help dampen inflationary pressures.
However, if US workers continue to switch jobs so frequently in search of better pay or new opportunities, these inflationary pressures could persist, the researchers pointed out.
The US inflation rate rose to a 40-year high at 7.5 percent in January.
In view of the strong rise in prices and the booming labor market at the same time, the Fed is heading for an interest rate turnaround.
The key rate is currently still in the range from zero to 0.25 percent.
Financial markets are expecting a first step up in March, which could be followed by up to five more hikes.
The Fed may even make an unusually large hike of half a point next month.