misery index

noun

: the sum of the rate of unemployment and the rate of inflation used as an economic indicator

Examples of misery index in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Cincinnati won 6-4 on Saturday afternoon, sending the Rockies to their fifth consecutive loss and dropping their season misery index to 4-22. Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 26 Apr. 2025 The idea of a misery index was fathered by Arthur Okun, a distinguished economist who served as chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers from 1968 to 1969 during President Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration. Steve H. Hanke, National Review, 27 Feb. 2025 Okun’s misery index was modified by Harvard professor Robert Barro in 1996, by including the 30-year government-bond yield and the difference between the long-term-trend rate of real GDP growth and the actual rate of real GDP growth. Steve H. Hanke, National Review, 27 Feb. 2025 Currently, the misery index stands at 6.5%, below its 9.1% average since 1947. Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 30 Oct. 2024 See All Example Sentences for misery index

Word History

First Known Use

1975, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of misery index was in 1975

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Cite this Entry

“Misery index.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misery%20index. Accessed 1 May. 2025.

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