Tri-fold Brochure

BLS Regional Economic Analysis and Information Offices Continued

Atlanta

Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center

61 Forsyth Street S.W. Room 7T50

Atlanta, GA 30303

Phone: (404) 331-3415

Fax (404) 331-3445

Ready Facts catalog: (404) 331-3403

Chicago

J.C. Kluczynski Federal Office Building

230 South Dearborn Street 9^th Floor

Chicago, IL 60604-1595

Phone: (312) 353-1880

Fax: (312) 353-1886

Ready Facts catalog: (312) 353-1880

Dallas

Maceo Smith Federal Building

525 Griffin Street, Room 221

Dallas, TX 75202-5028

Phone: (214) 767-6970

Fax: (214) 767-3720

Ready Facts catalog: (214) 767-9613

Kansas City

1100 Main Street, Suite 600

Kansas City, MO 64105-2112

Phone: (816) 426-2481

Fax: (816) 426-6537

Ready Facts catalog: (816) 426-3152

San Francisco

71 Stevenson Street, Suite 600

P.O. Box 193766

San Francisco, CA 94119-3766

Phone: (415) 975-4350

Fax: (415) 975-4371

Ready Facts catalog: (415) 975-4567

Confidentiality And BURDEN STATEMENT

Confidentiality Statement:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, its employees, agents and partner statistical agencies, will use the information you provide for statistical purposes only and will hold the information in confidence to the full extent permitted by law. In accordance with the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002 (Title 5 of Public Law 107-347) and other applicable Federal laws, your responses will not be disclosed in identifiable form without your informed consent.

Voluntary Nature of the Program: This report is authorized by law, 29 U.S.C.2. Your voluntary cooperation is needed to make the results of this survey comprehensive, accurate and timely.

Screening/Initiation Burden Statement:

We estimate that it will take an average of 7 minutes per respondent to determine eligibility. And then, if eligible, we estimate an average of 5 minutes per respondent to complete this survey.

Initiation Burden Statement: We estimate that it will take an average of 5 minutes per respondent to complete this survey.

Pricing Burden Statement:

We estimate that it will take an average of 7minutes per respondent to complete this survey.

If you have any comments regarding these estimates or any other aspect of the survey-send them directly to the Division of Consumer Prices and Indexes (202-691-6991), Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20212.

OMB #1220-0163

Approval Expires XX/XX/2009

The Consumer

Price Index:

Housing Survey

Questions and answers

US Department of Labor

Bureau of Labor Statistics

October 2006 (Revised)



We need your help to measure inflation:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor, is the principal statistical data gathering organization of the Federal Government in the areas of labor and economics. We are asking you to participate in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) Housing Survey. The CPI Housing Survey is used to measure changes in the price of a major component of the CPI.

The CPI is the Nation’s chief indicator of inflation :

The CPI measures changes in prices for a fixed market basket of goods and services purchased every day by consumers at the retail level. All categories of consumer goods and services purchased by households are represented in the CPI and they are weighted to reflect the percentage of income spent on the item and the frequency of purchase. Goods and services are divided into several categories including housing, food and beverages, apparel, transportation, medical care, recreation, education and communication, and other goods and services. Investment items such as stocks, bonds and purchases of houses are excluded from the CPI.

Housing Accounts for more than 40 percent of the CPI:

The index’s housing component has three subcomponents: Shelter, fuel and other utilities, and household furnishings and operations. Together, they account for more than 40 percent of the CPI. Shelter is the major subcomponent and comprises approximately one fourth of the CPI. BLS measures the changes in shelter costs primarily from information collected in the CPI Housing Survey, in which you have been asked to participate.

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The CPI is important to you:

The CPI is used by business, labor and government to make policy decisions and to adjust payment under collective bargaining agreements. The Federal Government uses the CPI to adjust Social Security, other programs’ payments, and personal income tax rates to reflect the effects of inflation.

Your home was chosen at random:

Approximately every 10 years, the CPI undergoes a revision in which a new sample of items is chosen to better reflect current consumption patterns. BLS chose your address, using scientific random sampling procedures, from 2000 Census information and recent data on new home construction. We chose this address, not you as an individual or as a household. If you move, we will interview the next resident at this address next time. Your home was chosen to represent a large number of similar housing units in the CPI.

All information is confidential:

All the information you give to BLS for this survey is confidential. BLS staff is sworn to maintain the confidentiality of all responses. No one has access to your responses. All information is presented only in the form of statistical summaries. You will not be personally identified.

We will only ask for a little of your time:

BLS collects information on the changes in housing costs by visiting selected homes on a predetermined schedule. We will contact you either by telephone or by personal visit once every 6 months. In addition, on rare occasions, other BLS employees may re-interview you as part of our Data Quality Assurance Program. An interview should take an average of 5 to 12 minutes.

The CPI is released monthly:

CPI statistics are released between the 10^th and the 15^th day of each month, and report the statistics for the previous month. The media (newspapers, television, etc.) report the information promptly. CPI information also is available on the Internet at: http://stats.bls.gov In addition, CPI information is available in two BLS periodicals, the CPI Detail Report and the Monthly Labor Review.

Thank You!

By working with us on the CPI Housing Survey, you help make the CPI possible.

BLS Regional Economic Analysis and Information Offices

Boston

JFK Federal Building, E-310

Boston, MA 02203

Phone: (617) 565-2327

Fax: (617) 565-4182

Ready Facts catalog: (617) 565-9167

New York

201 Varick Street, Room 808

New York, NY 10014-4811

Phone: (212) 337-2400

Fax: (212) 337-2532

Ready Facts catalog: (212) 337-2412

Philadelphia

The Curtis Center- Suite 610 E

170 South Independence Mall West

Philadelphia, PA 19106-3305

Phone: (215) 861-5650

Fax: (215) 861-5720

Ready Facts catalog: (215) 597-4153