The United States is at growing risk of plunging into a recession, a prospect that is spooking some economists as inflation further ensnarls the country.

Inflation is running at levels not seen since the 1980s, and the Federal Reserve appears poised to act even more aggressively to rein it in. To drive down the higher prices, the Fed must hike interest rates, a move that slows spending. The concern is that the Fed is so far behind on doing so that it might knock the economy into a recession as it does battle with inflation.