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Bureau of Labor Statistics' Inflation & Price Information: Home

Focusing on the Producer Price Indexes and Consumer Price Index
Last Updated: Jan 8, 2024 3:35 PM

The Bureau of Labor Statistics

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."

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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 I: Home Screen and Latest Numbers

PPI Part 2: Databases

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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

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Librarian

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Carolyn Klotzbach-Russell
Contact:
422 Lockwood Library, North Campus
(716) 645-9178

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