U.S. Is Trimming Back Its Collection of Consumer Price Data
Last edited Thu Jun 5, 2025, 02:51 AM - Edit history (1)
Source: New York Times
U.S. Is Trimming Back Its Collection of Consumer Price Data
The cutbacks would have "minimal impact," the government said, but economists warned of reduced confidence in inflation data produced by a struggling statistical system.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Wednesday that it was reducing its collection of price data for goods and services, including grocery items. Graham Dickie/The New York Times
By Ben Casselman
https://www.nytimes.com/by/ben-casselman
June 4, 2025, 7:39 p.m. ET
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is cutting back its collection of data on consumer prices, raising questions about the reliability of federal economic statistics under President Trump. ... Every month, a small army of government workers visits stores and other businesses across the country to check prices of eggs, underwear, haircuts, and tens of thousands of other goods and services. The data collected is the basis for the inflation measures that determine cost-of-living increases in union contracts and Social Security benefits and that guide policymakers at the Federal Reserve when they set interest rates, among other applications.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is part of the Labor Department, said on Wednesday that it was reducing its collection of price data "in areas across the country" and that it had stopped gathering data entirely in Buffalo; Lincoln, Neb.; and Provo, Utah. The agency did not give a specific reason for the cuts, but said it "makes reductions when current resources can no longer support the collection effort." ... The agency said the cuts would have "minimal impact" on estimates of the overall inflation rate, though they could "increase the volatility" of more detailed measures, such as price indexes for individual categories or regions.
But economists said the cuts were the latest blow to a statistical system that was already struggling to maintain the quality of its data in the face of tight budgets and declining response rates to government surveys. ... Those issues predate the Trump administration. In a major report last year, the American Statistical Association warned that the reliability of economic data and other government statistics was in jeopardy.
But those concerns have grown since Mr. Trump returned to office. In March, Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, suggested that he planned to change the way the government calculated gross domestic product. The administration also disbanded several advisory committees that provided input on statistical issues. And numerous government data sets were taken offline early in Mr. Trump's term, although most have been restored. ... Current and former employees at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census Bureau and other agencies consistently say they have seen no evidence of political interference in government statistics. Economists say they still believe the numbers are reliable.
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Ben Casselman is the chief economics correspondent for The Times. He has reported on the economy for nearly 20 years.
https://www.nytimes.com/by/ben-casselman
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/04/business/bls-price-data-collection.html
The story ran as an exclusive earlier in The Wall Street Journal., but it's behind a paywall.
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https://www.wsj.com/economy/cpi-inflation-data-accuracy-8bd2a8ae
EXCLUSIVE ECONOMY
Economists Raise Questions About Quality of U.S. Inflation Data
Labor Department says staffing shortages reduced its ability to conduct its massive monthly survey
By Matt Grossman
Updated June 4, 2025 at 3:27 pm ET
Some economists are beginning to question the accuracy of recent U.S. inflation data after the federal government said staffing shortages hampered its ability to conduct a massive monthly survey.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, the office that publishes the inflation rate, told outside economists this week that a hiring freeze at the agency was forcing the survey to cut back on the number of businesses where it checks prices.
{snip due to paywall}
= new reply since forum marked as read
