March 15, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)
Consumer prices in the Midwest rise
1.6 percent in 1998
In the Midwest region, the Consumer Price
Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 1.6 percent from December 1997 to December
1998, an increase identical to the national figure. The Midwest CPI had risen 1.3 percent
in 1997. The CPI-U measures retail price changes for goods and services purchased by
consumers in urban areas.
[Chart data—TXT]
The food and beverages component, which accounts for 16 percent of
expenditures in the Midwest, was up 2.2 percent in 1998, after a 1.2-percent increase in
1997. Food-at-home prices increased 2.1 percent, after having risen only 0.3 percent in
1997. Medical care prices rose 4.2 percent following a 2.6 percent increase in
1997. Prices for "other goods and services" increased 9.8 percent, after a
5.4-percent increase in 1997; this increase reflected, in part, a sharp rise in tobacco
prices.
The transportation index and apparel index both experienced declines in 1998, –1.3
percent and –0.7 percent, respectively. The housing component, which accounts for
about 37 percent of expenditures in the Midwest, rose 1.8 percent following a 2.4-percent
increase in 1997.
These data are produced by the BLS Consumer
Price Index program. More information can be obtained in news release
USDL 99-016, "Consumer Prices in the Midwest: December 1998." Annual comparisons
are based on changes in indexes from December 1997 to December 1998.
Of interest
Spotlight on Statistics: National Hispanic Heritage Month
In this Spotlight, we take a look at the Hispanic labor force—including labor force participation, employment and unemployment, educational attainment, geographic location, country of birth, earnings, consumer expenditures, time use, workplace injuries, and employment projections.
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