What goods and services does the Consumer Price Index (CPI) cover?
The CPI represents all goods and services purchased for consumption by the reference population (Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers or Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers). The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has classified all expenditure items into more than 200 categories, arranged into eight major groups. Major groups and examples of categories in each are as follows: • FOOD AND BEVERAGES (breakfast cereal, milk, coffee, chicken, wine, full service meals and snacks); • HOUSING (rent of primary residence, owners’ equivalent rent, fuel oil, bedroom furniture); • APPAREL (men’s shirts and sweaters, women’s dresses, jewelry); • TRANSPORTATION (new vehicles, airline fares, gasoline, motor vehicle insurance); • MEDICAL CARE (prescription drugs and medical supplies, physicians’ services, eyeglasses and eye care, hospital services); • RECREATION (televisions, cable television, pets and pet products, sports equipment, admissions); • EDUCATION AND COMM
