The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.4 percent in September on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.1 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 8.2 percent before seasonal adjustment.

Increases in the shelter, food, and medical care indexes were the largest of many contributors to the monthly seasonally adjusted all items increase. These increases were partly offset by a 4.9-percent decline in the gasoline index. The food index continued to rise, increasing 0.8 percent over the month as the food at home index rose 0.7 percent. The energy index fell 2.1 percent over the month as the gasoline index declined, but the natural gas and electricity indexes increased.

Also check out this handy chart

https://www.bls.gov/charts/consumer-price-index/consumer-price-index-average-price-data.htm

  • betelgeuse [comrade/them]
    hexagon
    ·
    2 years ago

    It's kind of a cop-out because the measurement they're going by is CPI-U which is for urban consumers. Inflation is higher in rural areas. You can see that in the charts.

    You have to be careful with liberal economic data too because it's rarely rigorous enough to treat as fact. If you have a receipt for something you bought 2 years ago and one where you just bought the same thing, you can calculation inflation. At least for that item. Obviously items will inflate/deflate at different rates. But the government demands an easy calculation that they can trot out when it's convenient and obfuscate when it's not.