October 15, 2013 by

Latest CPI Report and Other Indicators Suggest Low Inflation May be the “New Normal”

Latest CPI Report and Other Indicators Suggest Low Inflation May be the “New Normal”

By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer

As we had suggested in our last article on inflation trends, inflation seems to be trending downward.  The CPI numbers confirm that trend.  The latest inflation report both for Seattle and All-Cities is sub-2% and other recent inflation projections suggest that trend might continue. The recently released August CPI numbers report the National inflation index (All-Cities-W) at 1.5% and the Seattle-W even lower — 1.1%.  A year ago, the corresponding were 1.7% (All-Cities) and 2.7% (Seattle): This graph shows the declining rate over the past year: [Read more…]

Filed Under: CPI, Economics
July 31, 2013 by

Surge in Sales Tax Revenue Presages Improved Negotiation Outlook

Surge in Sales Tax Revenue Presages Improved Negotiation Outlook

By Jim Cline

Recent economic news has been characterized as tepid at best, but the most recent Washington State Department of Revenue report offers one of our clearest recent indicators that a solid economic recovery may be underway, at least in Washington State.  The recently released Department of Revenue First Quarter Sales tax numbers show a statewide jump from the preceding 12 months (Quarter 1, 2012) of 8 percent.  The City sales tax numbers can be found here. The County numbers can be found here. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Economic Developments, Economics
July 31, 2013 by

June CPI Report Shows Continued Low Inflation

June CPI Report Shows Continued Low Inflation

By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer

The just-released June CPI numbers show that inflation continues to be low.  The Seattle CPI-W index came in at 1.2% up 1/10 of a percentage from April but down from 2.7% from last June.  The All-Cities index came in at 1.8%, up from 0.9 in April and slightly up from last June’s 1.6%. This graph shows the movement over the past year.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: CPI, Economics