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Consumer Price Index
Bureau of Labor Statistics > Consumer Price Index > Data > Research

R-HICP Homepage

R-HICP for all items less food and energy delayed

  • The CPI-U harmonized research series (R-HICP) XLSX file was reissued on May 29, 2024 to exclude incorrect 2023 and 2024 data for all items less food and energy. The R-HICP table will continue to be published without the all items less food and energy series data as we investigate the issue.

Background

The Bureau began calculating an index following the European definition of the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) as a research project. Data were initially shared in the Monthly Labor Review article Comparing U.S. and European inflation: the CPI and the HICP published in 2006 and we have continued monthly calculation of the experimental US-HICP since then.

The HICP differs from the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) in two major respects. First, the HICP includes the rural population in its scope. Second, and probably more importantly, the HICP excludes owner-occupied housing. To construct the R-HICP, the CPI was narrowed to remove the owner-occupied housing costs that the HICP excludes from its scope. The CPI does not collect prices in rural areas, and the R-HICP uses price data collected for the CPI-U population, so this research index does not exactly match the population coverage of the HICP.

Like the Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP) system, the HICP facilitates international comparisons of price change. The International Labor Comparisons program, originally operated within the Bureau and now at the Conference Board, is a primary user of the indexes. They compile HICP measures from different countries to compare international inflation experiences. Another key user is Eurostat. BLS provides Eurostat with index data each month, and relative importance data for these indexes annually.

Limitations

These indexes are calculated outside of the official production system and are at greater risk of calculation errors than the official CPI indexes. Additionally, they differ from the official indexes in both scope and aggregation and may not have the same data quality as the official indexes we publish. Customers should be aware of the caveats and limitations of any of these products they consider using.

BLS strives to make these indexes available shortly after CPI release day. In January (when expenditure weights are updated) R-HICP indexes are released with a lag, usually by the end of February. Additionally, release of indexes in other months may be delayed due to resource availability and other constraints.

The CPI does not collect prices in rural areas, and the R-HICP uses price data collected for the CPI-U population, so this research index does not exactly match the population coverage of the HICP.

Where definitional differences exist between U.S. item strata and HICP classes, factors are used to bridge between the two structures. This allocation and imputation procedure approximates direct collection of HICP item categories. Factors are used to calculate HICP classes 01, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 09, 10, and 12.

Available data

Indexes are produced for the urban (U) population. Monthly indexes are available from December 1997 for the R-HICP-U. Data are available a few days after the release of the CPI-U. Indexes for all items and all items less food and energy are calculated in addition to the following 12 HICP classes:

  • 01: Food and non-alcoholic beverages

  • 02: Alcoholic beverages and tobacco

  • 03: Clothing and footwear

  • 04: Housing, water, gas, electricity, and other fuels (Note: this excludes owners’ equivalent rent measures, consistent with HICP methodology.)

  • 05: Furnishings, household equipment, and routine maintenance of the house

  • 06: Health

  • 07: Transport

  • 08: Communications

  • 09: Recreation and culture

  • 10: Education

  • 11: Restaurants and hotels

  • 12: Miscellaneous goods and services

Data

  • R-HICP, December 1997-Present (XLSX)
  • R-HICP relative importance, December 2023 (XLSX)
  • R-HICP relative importance, December 2022 (XLSX)

HICP data are also available from the Eurostat’s HICP webpage.

Related articles

Additional information is available in the Comparing U.S. and European inflation: the CPI and the HICP Monthly Labor Review (MLR) article and on the Eurostat COICOP HICP glossary page or Eurostat’s homepage.

Last Modified Date: December 11, 2024