Economists fear US inflation data less reliable

What happened

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday it has been collecting less data for its crucial consumer price index, the primary gauge of U.S. inflation, citing insufficient "resources."

In an email this week to economists who had raised concerns about "quirks" in the April CPI report, The Wall Street Journal reported, the BLS said it had indefinitely "reduced" its data collection "due to a staffing shortage in certain CPI cities" amid President Donald Trump's "hiring freeze."

Who said what

The reduction in in-person price checks that usually account for 60% of CPI data is "raising concerns among economists about the quality of the inflation figures just as they are being closely watched for the impact of tariffs," The Associated Press said. The data collection pullback is "collateral damage rather than intentional harm, but still damage," former Commerce Department economic statistics chief Jed Kolko told The New York Times. And "this isn't the moment when we want our read on inflation to get fuzzier."

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The CPI concerns "follow other government-statistics issues that have worried economists," including the administration's sharp cutback in wholesale price data and disbanding of expert advisory committees that "help improve government stats," the Journal said. "There is no sign of an intentional effort to publish false or misleading statistics," but "any problems with the data could have major implications for the economy."

What next?

The BLS said the cuts to CPI data collection will have "minimal impact on the overall inflation rate,” but could "increase the volatility" of the price data on specific goods and in specific regions.