BLS Reports: CPI for all items rises 0.1% in September; real average hourly earnings increase 0.3%

[mahatmakanejeeves]

CPI for all items rises 0.1% in September as shelter index continues to rise

Economic News Release USDL-18-1628

Consumer Price Index Summary
Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until 8:30 a.m. (EDT) October 11, 2018

Technical information: [phone] • [e-mail] • www.bls.gov/cpi
Media Contact: [phone] • [e-mail]

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX – SEPTEMBER 2018

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.1 percent in September on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.2 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index rose 2.3 percent before seasonal adjustment.

The shelter index continued to rise and accounted for over half of the seasonally adjusted monthly increase in the all items index. The energy index declined 0.5 percent in September after rising in August. The food index was unchanged in September, as an increase in the index for food away from home offset a decline in the food at home index.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.1 percent in September, the same increase as in August. The shelter index increased 0.2 percent, and the indexes for apparel, motor vehicle insurance, recreation, and airline fares also rose. The medical care index increased as well, though its components were mixed. The index for used cars and trucks, which fell sharply, and the new vehicles index were among the indexes that declined in September.

The all items index rose 2.3 percent for the 12 months ending September, a smaller increase than the 2.7-percent increase for the 12 months ending August. The energy index rose 4.8 percent over the last year, a notably smaller increase than the 10.2-percent increase for the 12 month period ending August. The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.2 percent for the 12 months ending September and the food index increased 1.4 percent; these were both the same rate of increase as for the 12 months ending August.
....

Contact Information

For additional information about the CPI visit www.bls.gov/cpi or contact the CPI Information and Analysis Section at 202-691-7000 or [e-mail].

For additional information on seasonal adjustment in the CPI visit
https://www.bls.gov/cpi/seasonal-adjustment/home.htm or contact the CPI seasonal adjustment section at 202-691-6968 or [e-mail].

Information from this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: [phone]; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.

Real average hourly earnings increase 0.3% over the month in September

Economic News Release USDL-18-1629

Real Earnings Summary

Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until 8:30 a.m. (EDT), Thursday, October 11, 2018

Technical Information: [phone] * [e-mail] * www.bls.gov/ces
Media Contact: [phone] * [e-mail]

REAL EARNINGS – SEPTEMBER 2018

All employees

Real average hourly earnings for all employees increased 0.3 percent from August to September, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This result stems from a 0.3-percent increase in average hourly earnings combined with a 0.1-percent increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).

Real average weekly earnings increased 0.2 percent over the month due to the increase in real average hourly earnings combined with no change in the average workweek.

Real average hourly earnings increased 0.5 percent, seasonally adjusted, from September 2017 to September 2018. The change in real average hourly earnings combined with the 0.6-percent increase in the average workweek resulted in a 1.1-percent increase in real average weekly earnings over this period.
....

______________
Real Earnings for October 2018 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 14, 2018 at 8:30 a.m. (EST).

* * * * *

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Information from these releases will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: [phone], Federal Relay Services: 1-800-877-8339.

[beachbum bob]

1. for 25 years the CPI has been a joke as they ignore basically all the items that add to

inflation. We know what the inflation is when we fill our cars and buy food....

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Not all CPI's are alike. For an earlier discussion at DU about that, see:

July's report: BLS Report: CPI-U for all items rises 0.1% in June as shelter, gasoline, food indexes increase

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From CPI for all items falls 0.1% in December as energy and food indexes decline:

Not all CPI's are alike. For an earlier discussion at DU about that, see:

CPI for all items rises 0.2% as gasoline and shelter prices rise; food prices decline

From the zeroeth post:

I added the bolding.

Cryptoad points out the significance of the CPI-W. It is used to calculate Social Security's Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA):

Based on the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) from the third quarter of 2013 through the third quarter of 2014, Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries will receive a 1.7 percent COLA for 2015.

Consumer Price Index Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What goods and services does the CPI cover?

The CPI represents all goods and services purchased for consumption by the reference population (U or W) BLS has classified all expenditure items into more than 200 categories, arranged into eight major groups. Major groups and examples of categories in each are as follows:
FOOD AND BEVERAGES (breakfast cereal, milk, coffee, chicken, wine, full service meals, snacks)
HOUSING (rent of primary residence, owners' equivalent rent, fuel oil, bedroom furniture)
APPAREL (men's shirts and sweaters, women's dresses, jewelry)
TRANSPORTATION (new vehicles, airline fares, gasoline, motor vehicle insurance)
MEDICAL CARE (prescription drugs and medical supplies, physicians' services, eyeglasses and eye care, hospital services)
RECREATION (televisions, toys, pets and pet products, sports equipment, admissions);
EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION (college tuition, postage, telephone services, computer software and accessories);
OTHER GOODS AND SERVICES (tobacco and smoking products, haircuts and other personal services, funeral expenses).

The CPI-U is used by the Treasury Department to set the interest rates on I Bonds.

I Savings Bonds

How do I Bonds earn interest?

Interest on an I Bond rates is a combination of two rates:
1.A fixed rate of return which remains the same throughout the life of the I Bond

and
2.A variable inflation rate which we calculate twice a year, based on changes in the nonseasonally adjusted Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for all items, including food and energy (CPI-U for March compared with the CPI-U for September of the same year, and then CPI-U for September compared with the CPI-U for March of the following year).

In specific, there is a discussion of the Cost of Living Index here:

Let's look at that.

The CPI-W is discussed here:

CPI-W methodology

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Note that there is a:

Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U)

Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U)

Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W)

The fine print goes into the distinction.

Here's the thread from three months ago about the March CPI:

CPI for all items rises 0.2% as gasoline and shelter prices rise; food prices decline

Cryptoad points out the significance of the CPI-W. It is used to calculate Social Security's Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA):

Based on the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) from the third quarter of 2013 through the third quarter of 2014, Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries will receive a 1.7 percent COLA for 2015.

Consumer Price Index Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What goods and services does the CPI cover?

The CPI represents all goods and services purchased for consumption by the reference population (U or W) BLS has classified all expenditure items into more than 200 categories, arranged into eight major groups. Major groups and examples of categories in each are as follows:
FOOD AND BEVERAGES (breakfast cereal, milk, coffee, chicken, wine, full service meals, snacks)
HOUSING (rent of primary residence, owners' equivalent rent, fuel oil, bedroom furniture)
APPAREL (men's shirts and sweaters, women's dresses, jewelry)
TRANSPORTATION (new vehicles, airline fares, gasoline, motor vehicle insurance)
MEDICAL CARE (prescription drugs and medical supplies, physicians' services, eyeglasses and eye care, hospital services)
RECREATION (televisions, toys, pets and pet products, sports equipment, admissions);
EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION (college tuition, postage, telephone services, computer software and accessories);
OTHER GOODS AND SERVICES (tobacco and smoking products, haircuts and other personal services, funeral expenses).

The CPI-U is used by the Treasury Department to set the interest rates on I Bonds.

I Savings Bonds

How do I Bonds earn interest?

Interest on an I Bond rates is a combination of two rates:
1.A fixed rate of return which remains the same throughout the life of the I Bond

and
2.A variable inflation rate which we calculate twice a year, based on changes in the nonseasonally adjusted Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for all items, including food and energy (CPI-U for March compared with the CPI-U for September of the same year, and then CPI-U for September compared with the CPI-U for March of the following year).