How did we do on the "Misery Index" in 2024?

The "Misery Index (MI)" is found by adding the inflation rate to the unemployment rate. For 2024 the inflation rate was 2.95% (I used the monthly average of the seasonally adjusted CPI). The unemployment rate was 4.0%. So

MI = 2.95 + 4.0 = 6.95

Data sources:

Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average (CPIAUCSL).

Unemployment Rate (UNRATE).

Both are from The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

How does 6.95 look by historical standards? The graph below has the MI from 1948-2024

The historical average is 9.22 (average inflation 3.53%, average unemployment 5.69%). 1953 had the lowest ever at 3.66 (inflation 0.76%, unemployment 2.90%). The highest ever was 1980 with 20.70. (inflation 13.5%, unemployment 7.20%). 

2024 is the 22nd lowest out of 77 years (1948-2024). So it is better than 71% of the years. 

Also, as I have posted earlier the 11.1% poverty rate in 2023 is tied for the 2nd lowest official poverty rate since 1959 when the Census Bureau first started reporting it (tied with 1973). The lowest ever was the  10.5% in 2019. See Historical Poverty Tables: People and Families - 1959 to 2023. Then click on Table 2. Poverty Status of People by Family Relationship, Race, and Hispanic Origin. It is an Excel file.

In the related post linked below, it mentions two modifications to the MI. In one, unemployment is considered or weighted twice as much as inflation. The graph of that is below.

In the other modification unemployment is considered or weighted five times as much as inflation. The graph of that is below.

Related post:

Inflation and Unemployment Both Make You Miserable, but Maybe Not Equally: Tweaking the famous ‘Misery Index’ may help it better fit political events (2022)