By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released their bimonthly inflation report two weeks ago showing inflation through June. We have previously reported on the slowdown of inflation with predictions of further slowdown ahead. This report confirms that expected trend. Most notable about the June report is that anticipated cooling of the “Seattle” numbers is materializing.
The BLS report shows the June All Cities “W” index at 2.9 down a half percentage point since April. The Seattle June Seattle Index continues to be higher at 3.6%, but this is a significant reduction for the April Seattle number that was reported at 4.5%. This graph shows the bimonthly movement in inflation over the past year, including the latest numbers:
The numbers above drive many contract negotiations, but they are not the only numbers in use. This chart shows some of the other often used indices including the “U” numbers and the West Coast numbers:
In our next newsletter, we’ll discuss in more detail the impact of this June report especially on contract negotiations.
