Economists use the term stagflation to describe a situation in which prices and unemployment are both high, and economic growth is slow.
This economic situation is an unfortunate combination of longterm inflation (when the cost of living keeps going up) and a stagnant economy. The term stagflation was coined in the 1960s, but it became widely used by economists in the 1970s, when an oil crisis caused just this situation in many countries worldwide. Prior to that period, most experts believed that high inflation could only lead to low rates of unemployment.