2022 economy: Year in review2022 economy: Year in review

By Alex Tanzi, -with assistance from Vince Golle, Ana Monteiro and Robert Jameson

Above all, 2022 was the year of inflation.

The cost of living soared all over the world in 2022. Pandemic price pressures, dismissed as transitory, turned out to be enduring with Russia’s war in Ukraine causing a fresh spike in food and energy costs.

In June alone, inflation was mentioned in more than 250,000 news stories on the Bloomberg Terminal.

Initially slow to react, the Federal Reserve and its fellow central banks were forced to play catch-up. They raised interest rates at the fastest pace in decades. 

By the year’s end, inflation appeared to be past its peak — but economies were stalling, as tight money began to bite. 

While, still-tight labor markets have provided some support, recession risks are mounting into 2023 for some of the world’s major economies, including the U.S. and Europe. 

The coming months are expected to see more rate increases — and a cooling in inflation, though perhaps not by as much as central banks would like. Next year is likely to turn tougher for workers, with unemployment forecast to rise.  

These charts highlight some of the key developments in the global economy over the past year.

© 2022 Bloomberg L.P.