CPI falls faster than medical care commodities while medical services rise from Dec to Jan

cpi

general_inflation_2015_1

The consumer price index (CPI) went down from 236.284 in December 2014 to 234.677 in January 2015, an annualized rate of 8.16%.

medical_commodities_2015_1medical_services_2015_1

The price index for medical care commodities went down at an annualized rate of 3.37% from December 2014 to January 2015. During the same period, the price index increased for medical care services (0.98%), hospital and related services (0.59%), and professional services (2.09%).

Source: BLS

Image source: http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-54762670/stock-photo-background-concept-illustration-consumer-price-index.html

Published by

Dwight Steward, Ph.D.

Dr. Steward regularly writes and speaks on topics involving business and individual economic damages, employment audits, and the analysis of payroll and time data in wage and hour investigations. Dr. Steward has also held teaching positions at The University of Texas-Austin in the Department of Economics and in the Red McCombs School of Business, The College of Business at Sam Houston State University, and at The University of Iowa. He has taught numerous courses in statistics, corporate finance, labor economics, business policies, managerial economics, and microeconomics.