Gas price rise may slow economic recovery

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - In the last week, the national average price of gas jumped 12 cents, and over the past month, the price for a gallon of gas has gone up more than 40 cents. The rise in prices is hitting consumers hard, and it may also hit the economy as a whole.

For those who need to drive, higher prices mean taking money from other parts of their budgets. New numbers show that 4% of our gross income is going toward our gas tanks, and this is nothing but bad news when we're trying to get out of a recession.

Experts say that when our economy is struggling to get back on its feet, higher prices can knock our recovery off track.

"The more people spend on gasoline, the less they have to spend on other parts of the economy. So that could slow our economic growth,” economist Alan Gin said.

The frustrating thing about all this for drivers is that even though we are spending more of our incomes on gas, we are actually buying less fuel than we did five or 10 years ago, due to the general switch to smaller and more efficient vehicles.

To find the lowest gas prices in your neighborhood, check out the 22News Pump Price Patrol .