The Economics Daily
Consumer prices for back-to-school spending
The start of the school year comes with budgeting for a variety of expenses. For instance, students need books, though lunch may be their favorite period. In May 2025 (the latest data available for some school-related items), prices for educational books and supplies, such as elementary, high school, and college textbooks and reference books, were 9.4 percent higher than a year earlier. read more »
Beyond the Numbers
What price changes contributed the most to increases in the CPI in 2024?
Between December 2023 and December 2024, consumer prices experienced disinflation, where prices still increased but by a smaller amount than before. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 2.9 percent from December 2023 to December 2024. This was a slower rate of increase than in the three previous 12-month periods ending in December. read more »
Monthly Labor Review
Impacts of COVID-19 on collection and missing data in the CPI
Data collection rapidly shifted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. read more »
