The Consumer Price Index (CPI) represents changes in prices of all goods and services purchased for consumption by urban households. Indexes are available for two population groups: a CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). Price indexes are available for the United States, the four Census regions, size of city, cross-classifications of regions and size-classes, and for 26 local areas. The major uses of the CPI include the CPI as an economic indicator, as a deflator of other economic series, and as a means of adjusting income payments.
Also available is the Consumer Price Index research series using current methods (CPI-U-RS), which presents an estimate of the CPI-U from 1978 to the present that incorporates most of the improvements that the BLS has made over that time span into the entire series. The historical price index series of the CPI-U does not reflect these changes, though these changes do make the present and future CPI more accurate. The limitations of the CPI-U-RS include considerable uncertainty surrounding the magnitude of the adjustments and the several improvements in the CPI that have not been incorporated into the CPI-U-RS for various reasons. Nonetheless, the CPI-URS can serve as a valuable proxy for researchers needing a historical estimate of inflation using current methods. The direct adjustment of individual CPI index series makes this the most detailed and systematic estimate available of a consistent CPI series.
Further information on consumer price indexes may be obtained from:
Consumer Price Indexes
Bureau of Labor Statistics
U.S. Department of Labor
2 Massachusetts Avenue NE
Washington, DC 20212
http://stats.bls.gov/cpi/home.htm
Statistics on the employment status of the population and related data are compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) using data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) and other surveys. The monthly CPS survey of households is conducted for BLS by the Census Bureau through a scientifically selected sample designed to represent the civilian noninstitutional population. Respondents are interviewed to obtain information about the employment status of each member of the household 16 years of age and over. Each month, about 60,000 occupied units are eligible for interview. Some 4,500 of these households are contacted, but interviews are not obtained because the occupants are not at home after repeated calls or are unavailable for other reasons. This represents a non-interview rate for the survey that ranges between 7 and 8 percent. In addition to the 60,000 occupied units, there are 12,000 sample units in an average month that are visited, but found to be vacant or otherwise not eligible for enumeration.
The current sample design, introduced in July 2001, includes about 72,000 households from 754 sample areas and maintains a 1.9 percent coefficient of variation (c.v.) on national monthly estimates of unemployment level. This translates into a change of 0.2 percentage points in the unemployment rate being significant at a 90 percent confidence level. For each of the 50 states and for the District of Columbia, the design maintains a c.v. of at most 8 percent on the annual average estimate of unemployment level, assuming a 6 percent unemployment rate.
Further information on unemployment surveys may be obtained from:
Bureau of Labor Statistics
U.S. Department of Labor
2 Massachusetts Avenue NE
Washington, DC 20212
cpsinfo@bls.gov
http://www.bls.gov/bls/employment.htm
Other Governmental Agencies