Bureau of Labor Statistics' Inflation & Price Information: Home
The Bureau of Labor Statistics
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics, defined by the agency themselves is: "the principal fact-finding agency for the Federal Government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics. The BLS is an independent national statistical agency that collects, processes, analyzes, and disseminates essential statistical data to the American public, the U.S. Congress, other Federal agencies, State and local governments, business, and labor. The BLS also serves as a statistical resource to the Department of Labor. BLS publishes information about the nation's economy: relating to employment, unemployment, and other characteristics of the labor force; consumer and producer prices, consumer expenditures, and import and export prices; wages and other worker compensation; productivity and technological change; employment projections; and safety and health statistics." Did You Know?
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Producer Price Indexes
The Producer Price Index is a family of indexes that measures the average change over time in the selling prices received by domestic producers of goods and services. PPIs measure price change from the perspective of the seller. PPI data covers the output of all industries in the goods-producing sector of the U.S. economy and most of the service sector, as well as construction, natural gas and electric utilities, and goods competitive with those made in producing sectors (such as scrap materials).
For more information on the producer price index, see the Bureau of Labor Statistics' introduction video and PPI FAQs.
PPI Timeline
PPIs are published monthly. This includes:
- First-published data for a particular month. (first-published data are preliminary for four months)
- Recalculated indexes (final figures) for the indexes published four months earlier
Example: On August 14, 2013, first-published PPIs for July 2013 and final indexes for March 2013 were released. In September 2013, first-published indexes for August and recalculated figures for April were released.
PPI Part 2: Databases
Additional Links
- PPI Industry or Commodity Data: Which Better Suits Your Needs?Part of the BLS publication "Focus on Prices and Spending" Producer Price Index: Second Quarter, August 2010 Volume 1, Number 7
- What historical data are available?Full FAQ response from the BLS.
Consumer Price Index
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services. Price indexes are available for the U.S., the four Census regions, nine Census divisions, two size of city classes, eight cross-classifications of regions and size-classes, and for 23 local areas. Indexes are available for major groups of consumer expenditures (food and beverages, housing, apparel, transportation, medical care, recreation, education and communications, and other goods and services), for items within each group, and for special categories, such as services.
More information on the CPI, take a look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics' overview page and the video focused on Chained CPI (C-CPI-U).
CPI Timeline
CPI data are published monthly. Metro regions may be published bi-monthly.
CPI Part 1: Home Screen and Latest Numbers
Please note that some database screens are similar between PPI and CPI. In order to avoid repetition in videos, I refer to the PPI video when the screens have the same functionality. Make sure you watch the PPI video for full details.
CPI Part 2: Databases and Inflation Calculator
Additional Links
- Video: Chained Consumer Price Index For All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U)"The Bureau of Labor Statistics first began publishing the Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers in August 2002. Designated the C-CPI-U, the index supplements the existing indexes already produced by the BLS: the CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W)."
- CPI Geographic InformationList of data releases by geographic area.
- Regional ResourcesQuick way to get current indexes for all items by region.
Librarian
Additional Links
- Producer Price Index (PPI) from InvestopediaAnother good resources for explaining PPI, including a short video clip and examples.