BLS reports: CPI for all items up 0.1% in February; Real avg hourly earnings increase 0.1% in Feb.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

CPI for all items rises 0.1% in February; food and shelter indexes increase but gas falls

Economic News Release USDL-17-0318

Consumer Price Index Summary

Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until 8:30 a.m. (EDT) March 15, 2017

Technical information: [phone] [e-mail] www.bls.gov/cpi
Media Contact: [phone] [e-mail]

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX – FEBRUARY 2017

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.1 percent in February on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index rose 2.7 percent before seasonal adjustment.

The February increase was the smallest 1-month rise in the seasonally adjusted all items index since July 2016. The gasoline index declined, partially offsetting increases in several indexes, including food, shelter, and recreation. The energy index fell 1.0 percent, with the decline in gasoline outweighing increases in the other energy component indexes. The food index increased 0.2 percent over the month, its largest rise since September 2015.
....

Brief Explanation of the CPI

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in prices over time of goods and services purchased by households. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which covers households of wage earners and clerical workers that comprise approximately 28 percent of the total population and (2) the CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and the Chained CPI for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U), which covers approximately 89 percent of the total population and includes, in addition to wage earners and clerical worker households, groups such as professional, managerial, and technical workers, the self-employed, short-term workers, the unemployed, and retirees and others not in the labor force.
....

For further details visit the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi/ or contact our CPI Information and Analysis Section on [phone].

Real average hourly earnings increase 0.1% in February

Real Earnings Summary USDL-17-0319

Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until 8:30 a.m. (EDT), Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Technical Information: [phone] * [e-mail] * www.bls.gov/ces
Media Contact: [phone] * [e-mail]

REAL EARNINGS * FEBRUARY 2017

All employees

Real average hourly earnings for all employees increased 0.1 percent from January to February, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This result stems from a 0.2-percent increase in average hourly earnings combined with a 0.1-percent increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).

Real average weekly earnings increased 0.1 percent over the month due to the increase in real average hourly earnings combined with no change in the average workweek.

Real average hourly earnings were unchanged, seasonally adjusted, from February 2016 to February 2017. The unchanged real average hourly earnings combined with a 0.3-percent decrease in the average workweek resulted in a 0.3-percent decrease in real average weekly earnings over this period.
....

______________
Real Earnings for March 2017 is scheduled to be released on Friday, April 14, 2017 at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).

[center]Facilities for Sensory Impaired[/center]

Information from these releases will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: [phone], Federal Relay Services: 1-800-877-8339.

== == == == ==

So far, the BLS is putting out propaganda-free reports. How long that will last, I do not know. There is now an altBLS Twitter feed:

@alt_bls

.@realDonaldTrump, we're the statisticians and economists... you're a real estate developer. Stick to golf. #Resistance #Resist