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Econ Explainer
Built for The Economic Explainer · Fiscal modelling in plain numbers
Turn an economic dataset or concept into a clean, honest visual explainer.
7 cited explainers · 0 of yours
Concept Library
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Consumer Price Inflation
Year-over-year change in the CPI-U (all items)
BarY-axis at 0±0.2 band
Annual CPI-U Change (%)
0.10%
Period low
8.00%
Period high
2.86%
Average
10
Years shown
60%
of range
6 of 10 years sat at or above the fed 2% target (2.00%).
derived from the shown range only
Poke the Model
Compounds each year's CPI change into a price index, then converts the start-year dollars into end-year purchasing power. This is exactly the math behind 'a dollar doesn't go as far anymore.'
$
What it buys in the end year, 2024
$757
−$243 vs. $1,000 in 2015
Adjust the Range
- Inflation measures how much prices rise across a basket of goods — food, energy, housing, services — over a year. When inflation is high, a dollar buys less.
- 2020 saw historically low inflation (1.2%) as pandemic-driven demand collapsed. The economy re-opened in 2021 with supply chains still disrupted — prices surged to 4.7%.
- By 2022, inflation hit 8.0%, the highest since 1981, driven by energy costs, shelter, and persistent supply shortages. Every American felt it at the grocery store and the pump.
- The Federal Reserve raised interest rates aggressively from March 2022 onward. By 2024, CPI fell to 2.9% — approaching but still above the Fed's 2% target.
- Key insight: shelter costs (rent, owners-equivalent rent) lag real-market rents by 12–18 months, so the statistical measure overstates current housing inflation even as market rents have cooled.
UncertaintySeasonal adjustment and methodology revisions can shift historical readings by ±0.1–0.3 pp. BLS publishes revisions annually.
Source, Method & Fairness
Primary source
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)CPI-U is the broadest consumer measure. Core CPI (ex. food and energy) was ~1 pp lower at the 2022 peak — illustrating how volatile energy prices can inflate the headline.
Calculation method
Annual average of BLS CPI-U index. Year-over-year % change = (CPI_year / CPI_prev_year − 1) × 100. Y-axis starts at 0 — no truncation.
Fairness checklist
- ✓Y-axis anchored at 0 — no truncation to exaggerate moves
- ✓Range covers the full series; no cherry-picking
- ✓Measurement uncertainty shown explicitly (±0.2 pp)
- ✓Primary source linked; method stated in full at left
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