What this measures
The CPI tracks what urban households pay for a fixed basket of goods and services: food, rent and owners’ housing costs, energy, cars, medical care, education and more. The year-over-year change is computed from the index that is not seasonally adjusted, which is how BLS reports the headline number.
Inflation near 2% is the Federal Reserve’s long-run goal (it targets a different measure, the PCE price index, which usually runs a little below CPI). Readings far above that erode paychecks that don’t keep pace; readings below zero, as in 2009, usually signal a weak economy.
Shelter is about a third of the index, so housing costs move the headline more than any other category.
Source: BLS Consumer Price Index via FRED (CPIAUCNS). Updated automatically when the source publishes. How we handle data · Embed this chart