Housing Survey Q&A pamphlet

BLS Regional Economic Analysis and Information Offices… Continued

Atlanta

Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center

61 Forsyth Street S.W.

Room 7

Atlanta, GA 30303

Phone: (404) 893-4222

Fax (404) 331- 4221

Chicago

J. C. Kluczynski Federal Office Building

230 South Dearborn Street

9^th Floor

Chicago, IL 60604-1505

Phone: (312) 353-1880

Fax: (312) 353-1886

Dallas

A. Maceo Smith Federal Building

525 S. Griffin Street

Room 221

Dallas, TX 75202-5028

Phone: (214) 767-6970

Fax: (214) 767-3720

Kansas City

Two Pershing Square Building

2300 Main Street

Suite 1190

Kansas City, MO 64108-2426

Phone: (816) 285-7000

Fax: (816) 285-7009

San Francisco

90 7^th Street

14^th Floor

San Francisco, CA 94103-6715

Phone: (415) 625-2270

Fax: (415) 625-2351

Confidentiality and BURDEN STATEMENTs

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 required 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 prior 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.

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 Price Indexes (202-691-6991), Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20212.

OMB #1220-0163

Approval Expires: November 30, 2012

The Consumer

Price Index:

Housing Survey

Questions and answers

U.S. Department of Labor

Bureau of Labor Statistics

November 2009 (Revised)



We need your help to measure inflation:

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), an agency of the Department of Labor, is the principal statistical data gathering organization of the Federal Government in the areas of labor and economics. We are asking for your voluntary participation in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) Housing Survey. The CPI Housing Survey is used to measure price changes for the housing component of the CPI. Thank you for your cooperation in this important program.

What is the CPI?

The CPI is the Nation’s chief measure of inflation at the retail level. It measures changes over time in the cost of buying a fixed market basket of goods and services needed for day-to-day living. Calculated and published by BLS, the CPI is used by business, labor, and government for making informed economic decisions. It is widely used to adjust payments under collective bargaining agreements and other contracts. The Federal Government uses the CPI to adjust Social Security payments, personal income taxes, and other program payments for the effects of inflation.

Housing accounts for more than 40 percent of the CPI:

The housing component of the CPI 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 largest of these components and accounts for 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.

Your home was chosen at random:

The CPI is continuously updated to maintain its accuracy and relevance in today’s economy. One sixth of the addresses in the Housing Survey are replaced annually, using a random sampling procedure. This address has been chosen, not you as an individual or your household. If you move, we will interview the new resident at this address in the future. Your home was selected to represent a large number of similar housing units in the CPI.

All information is confidential:

All the information you give to the BLS
data collector for this survey is confidential. BLS staff are sworn to maintain the confidentiality of all responses. No one else 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. Such an interview should take an average of 5 to 12 minutes.

The CPI is released monthly:

The CPI is available on the BLS-CPI homepage at: http://www.bls.gov/cpi shortly after release of the data around the 15^th of each month. Additionally, CPI information is available in two BLS periodicals: CPI Detailed Report and

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

Room E-310

Boston, MA 02203

Phone: (617) 565-2327

Fax: (617) 565-4182

New York

201 Varick Street

Room 808

New York, NY 10014-4811

Phone: (212) 337-2400

Fax: (212) 337-2532

Philadelphia

The Curtis Center

Suite 610 E

170 South Independence Mall West

Philadelphia, PA 19106-3305

Phone: (215) 597-3282

Fax: (215) 861-5720