Logo courtesy of the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - The United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will begin collecting data for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the Sacramento area in October. 

According to Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund the communities of El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo Counties make up one of six new areas in which CPI data will be collected beginning this year, the first addition of new areas to the CPI sample since its 2018 revision.

Data collected in the Sacramento area will be included in the following geographic area indexes: U.S. City Average, West Region, West Size Class B/C and Pacific Division.

The Consumer Price Index is one of the nation’s most important economic indicators. It is a principal gauge of inflation used widely in the formulation and evaluation of economic policy; adjusting cost of living payments (COLA) under many government programs including payments to Social Security beneficiaries, retired military and federal civil service employees and survivors; adjusting agreements including rentals/leases, collective bargaining and wages and pensions. 

It is a measure of the average change in prices paid by urban consumers for a fixed market basket of goods and services. It is an estimate based on a group of representative prices paid for items including food, clothing, shelter, fuels, transportation, medical services and other goods and services people buy for day-to-day living.

The Consumer Price Index periodically updates the geographic areas across the country in which prices are collected. The last time the areas were updated was in 2018 based on the 2010 Census of Population. The new design reflects shifts in the U.S. population based on the 2020 Decennial Census. During this time, 14 new areas will be added and work in 14 current areas will be discontinued, and the counties covered in other areas may change as well based on updated information from the Office of Management and Budget.

Employees from the CPI will make personal visits to explain the survey to retail establishments selected from surveys conducted that asked local residents where they bought various goods and services. They will also visit housing units chosen using statistical methods to represent the local housing market. The interviews are brief and no one will be asked to fill out any forms. Data collected from businesses and households by BLS are held in strict confidence and used for statistical purposes only.

Representatives will carry official identification and are U.S. Department of Labor employees. Local staff members will be part-time Economic Assistants who will be trained to collect data in person and by telephone using portable tablet computers. Job announcements for Economic Assistant positions can be found soon on usajobs.gov.