Cost of labor index by city
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) on a monthly basis. We use the CPI-W to annually adjust benefits paid to Social Security beneficiaries and Supplemental Security Income recipients. Prices in the West Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.4 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The February increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter and food. (Data in this report