Revised Brochure

Your input is important!
We need your help measuring the rate of inflation
in the U.S. economy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS) is asking for your voluntary participation in
the Consumer Price Index survey to help provide
an accurate measurement of the changes in the
cost of the many goods and services normally
purchased by urban consumers. Your cooperation
in this important survey will help provide the “big
picture” of the U.S. economy.

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.

What does the CPI include?
The CPI measures price changes for all types of
goods and services that are purchased by urban
consumers, whether costly or inexpensive and
whether purchased often or infrequently. Each
item is represented in the index in proportion to
consumer spending on it. Items are divided into
eight major groups: Food and beverages, apparel,
transportation, medical care, recreation, education
and communication, other goods and services,
and housing. Investments, such as purchases of
stocks, bonds, or homes, are not priced in the CPI,
because they do not represent consumption of
goods and services by consumers.

How does BLS get the information
on the price change in the CPI?
BLS employees visit selected retail stores, houses,
apartments, and other establishments in urban areas
on a regular basis to collect prices of sample items.
Prices are collected monthly in Chicago, Los Angeles,
and New York. In all other areas, food, fuel, and other
selected items are priced monthly; the rest of the
items are priced every other month.

Who is covered by the CPI?
There are, in effect, two CPIs. One represents the
expenditures of all urban consumers (CPI-U); the
other represents expenditures of urban wage earners
and clerical workers (CPI-W). These indexes do not
take into account the buying habits of persons living
on farms or in rural areas, persons in military service,
or those in institutions.

How was my establishment selected
to participate?
Your establishment was selected primarily from
information obtained from a household survey. In
this survey, households reported on where they
purchased various types of goods and services and
the dollar amounts of these purchases. From these
data, a sample of establishments was selected for
pricing of various categories of items.

When and how is the CPI published?

CPI: Commodities and services
components, Dec. 2011, in percent
5

 Apparel

10

15
22

5

24

10
9

 Education
 Food
 Housing*
 Medical care
 Other
 Recreation
 Transportation

*Excludes rent of primary residence and owners’
equivalent rent of residences

Confidentiality and burden concerns
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 informed consent.

CPI data appear in a news release usually issued
around the 15th of the month, reporting the data for
the previous month. Generally, the CPI is reported in
the newspapers and on television at this time.

Voluntary nature:

How can I get CPI data?

Public burden statement:

Information is available on the BLS-CPI homepage
at http://www.bls.gov/cpi/home.htm shortly after
release of the CPI data. The most comprehensive
report on the CPI is the periodical CPI Detailed
Report, issued monthly.

• Either monthly or bimonthly follow up should
take about 20 minutes.

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.
• We estimate it will take an hour to determine
your eligibility and, if eligible, complete
the survey.