Attachment B - CPI CS Trifold

U.S. Bureau of
L abor Statistics

BLS national and regional offices
Washington, DC

Bureau of Labor Statistics
2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20212
(202) 691-7000
[email protected]

Atlanta

Bureau of Labor Statistics
61 Forsyth Street, SW, Room 7T50
Atlanta, GA 30303
(404) 893-4222
[email protected]

Boston

Bureau of Labor Statistics
JFK Federal Building, E-310
Boston, MA 02203
(617) 565-2327
[email protected]

Chicago

Bureau of Labor Statistics
J.C. Kluczynski Federal Office Building
230 South Dearborn Street, Room 960
Chicago, IL 60604
(312) 353-1880
[email protected]

Dallas

Bureau of Labor Statistics
525 South Griffin Street, Room 221
Dallas, TX 75202
(972) 850-4800
[email protected]

Kansas City

Bureau of Labor Statistics
Two Pershing Square Building
2300 Main Street, Suite 1190
Kansas City, MO 64108
(816) 285-7000
[email protected]

New York

Bureau of Labor Statistics
New York-New Jersey Information Office
201 Varick Street, Room 808
New York, NY 10014
(646) 264-3600
[email protected]

Philadelphia

Bureau of Labor Statistics
1835 Market Street, Suite 1946
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 597-3282
[email protected]

The Consumer Price Index

Commodities and
Services Survey:
Questions & Answers

San Francisco

Bureau of Labor Statistics
90 7th Street, Suite 14-100
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 625-2270
[email protected]

•

Questions?
If you have any questions or comments
regarding any aspect of the survey, please
call : (202) 691-6991, or e-mail:
[email protected].
Or write to: The Division of Consumer
Prices and Price Indexes, Bureau of Labor
Statistics, 2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE
Washington DC 20212,
The U.S. Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) has approved this collection of
information and has assigned 1220-0039 as
the control number. Without OMB approval
and this number, we would not be able to
conduct this survey.

bls.gov | 

@BLS_gov

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
(CPI) 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, housing, apparel, transportation,
medical care, recreation, education and
communication, and other goods and services.
Investments, such as purchases of stocks, bonds,
and 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
published 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 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?

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 permitted by
law. In accordance with the Confidential
Information Protection and Statistical
Efficiency Act (44 U.S.C. 3572) and other
applicable Federal laws, your responses will
not be disclosed in identifiable form without
your informed consent. Per the Federal
Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015,
Federal information systems are protected
from malicious activities through cybersecurity
screening of transmitted data.

CPI data appear in a news release usually issued
around the 15th of the month, reporting the
data for the previous month. At the same time,
CPI data is reported in various media, such as
television, newspapers, and public websites.

Voluntary nature:
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.

How can I get CPI data?

Public burden statement:
• On average, it will take an hour to
determine your eligibility and, if eligible,
complete the initial survey.
• Either the monthly or bimonthly follow-up
survey should take about 20 minutes.

Information is available on the BLS-CPI homepage
at www.bls.gov/cpi/home.htm shortly after
release of the CPI data. The data is available in
a news release, data tables, and a searchable
online database.