Consumer Price Index - Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (MW) mw.txt Section Listing 1. Survey Definition 2. FTP files listed in the survey directory. 3. Time series, series file, data file, & mapping file definitions and relationships 4. Series file format and field definitions 5. Data file format and field definitions 6. Mapping file formats and field definitions 7. Data Element Dictionary ================================================================================ Section 1 ================================================================================ The following is a definition of: CONSUMER PRICE INDEX - Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (MW) Survey Description: The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a statistical measure of change, over time, of the prices of goods and services in major expenditure groups--such as food, housing, apparel, transportation, and medical care--typically purchased by urban consumers. Essentially, it compares the cost of a sample "market basket" of goods and services in a specific month relative to the cost of the same "market basket" in an earlier reference period. This reference period is designated as the base period. The CPI introduced by the BLS in 1987 includes indexes for two populations; urban wage earners and clerical workers (MW), and all urban consumers (MU). Both MW and the MU utilize expenditure weights based upon data tabulated from three years (1982, 1983, and 1984) of the Consumer Expenditure Survey and show, for every item and area combination available, the CPI data through December 1997. For selected items at the US level, and for the All Items index at the region, size class and local area, overlap indexes for January through June 1998 calculated using the old (pre 1998 revision) item and weight structure will be included. No additional updates to this database will be made after June 1998 data are included. To construct the two indexes, prices for about 100,000 items and data on about 8,300 housing units are collected in a sample of 91 urban places. Comparison of indexes for individual CMSA's or cities show only the relative change over time in prices between locations. These indexes cannot be used to measure interarea differences in price levels or living costs. Summary Data Available: U.S. average indexes for both populations are available for about 350 consumer items and groups of items. In addition, over 100 of the indexes have been adjusted for seasonality. The indexes are monthly with some beginning in 1913. Semi-annual indexes have been calculated for about 100 items for comparison with semi-annual areas mentioned below. Area indexes for both populations are available for 27 urban places. For each area, indexes are published for about 65 items and groups. The indexes are published monthly for five areas, bimonthly for ten areas, and semi-annually for 12 urban areas. Regional indexes for both populations are available for four regions with about 95 items and groups per region. Beginning with January 1987, indexes are monthly, with some beginning as early as 1966. Semi-annual indexes have been calculated for about 100 items for comparison with semi-annual areas mentioned above. Semi-annual indexes have been calculated for about 60 items in the 27 urban places for comparison with semi-annual areas. City-size indexes for both populations are available for four size classes with about 95 items and groups per class. Beginning with January 1987, indexes are monthly and most begin in 1977. Semi-annual indexes have been calculated for about 100 items for comparison with semi-annual areas mentioned below. Region/city-size indexes for both populations are available cross classified by region and city-size class. For each of 13 cross calculations, about 60 items and groups are available. Beginning with January 1987, indexes are monthly and most begin in 1977. Semi-annual indexes have been calculated for about 60 items in the 27 urban places for comparison with semi-annual areas. Frequency of Observations: U.S. city average indexes, some area indexes, and regional indexes, city-size indexes, and region/city-size indexes for both populations are monthly. Other area indexes for both populations are bimonthly or semi-annual. Annual Averages: Annual averages are available for all unadjusted series in the MW and MU. Base Periods: Most indexes have a base period of 1982-1984 = 100. Other indexes, mainly those which have been added to the CPI program since 1982, are based more recently. The base period value is 100.0, except for the "Purchasing Power" values (AAOR and SAOR) where the base period value is 1.000. Data Characteristics: Indexes are stored to one decimal place, except for the "Purchasing Power" values which are stored to three decimal places. Updating Schedule: Updates become available near the 15th of the month following the reference month. References: BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 19, "Consumer Price Index", BLS Bulletin 2285, April 1988. ================================================================================== Section 2 ================================================================================== The following Consumer Price Index (Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers) files are on the BLS internet in the sub-directory pub/time.series/mw: The mw.data file is partitioned into a number of separate files: mw.data.0.Current - All current year-to-date mw.data.1.AllItems - All items (item_code AA0, SA0) mw.data.2.Summaries - Summaries (item_code SA0, SA1, SA2, SA3, SA4, SA5, SA6, SA7, SAS, SAC) mw.data.3.AsizeNorthEast - A-size areas in Northeast (area_code A1...) mw.data.4.AsizeNorthCentral - A-size areas in North Central (area_code A2...) mw.data.5.AsizeSouth - A-size areas in South (area_code A3...) mw.data.6.AsizeWest - A-size areas in West (area_code A4...) mw.data.7.OtherNorthEast - All other Northeast (area_code 01, B1, C1) mw.data.8.OtherNorthCentral - All other North Central (area_code 02, B2, C2, D2) mw.data.9.OtherSouth - All other South (area_code 03, B3, C3, D3) mw.data.10.OtherWest - All other West (area_code 04, C4) mw.data.11.USFoodBeverage - All US Food and Beverage (area_code 0000, item_code SA1, SE0, SE1, SE20) mw.data.12.USHousing - All US Housing (area_code 0000, item_code SA2, SE21-SE35) mw.data.13.USApparel - All US Apparel (area_code 0000, item_code SE36-44, SS37-39) mw.data.14.USTransportation - All US Transportation (area_code 0000, item_code SA4, SE45-53, SS47) mw.data.15.USMedical - All US Medical (area_code 0000, item_code SA5, SE54-57) mw.data.16.USEntertainment - All US Entertainment (area_code 0000, item_code SA6, SE59-62) mw.data.17.USOtherGoodsServices - All US Other Goods and Services (area_code 0000, item_code SA7, SE63-68) mw.data.18.USCommoditiesServicesSpecial - All US Commodity and Services and Special (area_code 0000, item_code SA0, SAC, SAN, SAS) mw.data.19.PopulationSize - All population-size (area_code A000, B000, C000, D000) mw.area - Area codes mapping file mw.contacts - Contacts for BLS mw survey mw.item - Item codes mapping file mw.series - All series and their beginning and mw.txt - General Information end dates ================================================================================= Section 3 ================================================================================= The definition of a time series, its relationship to and the interrelationship among series, data and mapping files is detailed below: A time series refers to a set of data observed over an extended period of time over consistent time intervals (i.e. monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, annually). BLS time series data are typically produced at monthly intervals and represent data ranging from a specific consumer item in a specific geographical area whose price is gathered monthly to a category of worker in a specific industry whose employment rate is being recorded monthly, etc. The FTP files are organized such that data users are provided with the following set of files to use in their efforts to interpret data files: a) a series file (only one series file per survey) b) mapping files c) data files The series file contains a set of codes which, together, compose a series identification code that serves to uniquely identify a single time series. Additionally, the series file also contains the following series-level information: a) the period and year corresponding to the first data observation b) the period and year corresponding to the most recent data observation. The mapping files are definition files that contain explanatory text descriptions that correspond to each of the various codes contained within each series identification code. The data file contains one line of data for each observation period pertaining to a specific time series. Each line contains a reference to the following: a) a series identification code b) year in which data is observed c) period for which data is observed (M13, Q05, and S03 indicate annual averages) d) value e) footnote code (if available) ================================================================================= Section 4 ================================================================================= File Structure and Format: The following represents the file format used to define mw.series. Note that the Field Numbers are for reference only; they do not exist in the database. Data files are in ASCII text format. Data elements are separated by tabs; the first record of each file contains the column headers for the data elements stored in each field. Each record ends with a new line character. Field #/Data Element Length Value(Example) 1. series_id 17 MWSR0000SA0 2. area_code 4 0000 3. item_code 8 SA0 4. seasonal 1 S 5. periodicity_code 1 R 6. base_code 1 S 7. base_period 20 1982-84=100 8. begin_year 4 1947 9. begin_period 3 M01 10. end_year 4 1997 11. end_period 3 M12 The series_id (MWSR0000SA0) can be broken out into: Code Value survey abbreviation = MW seasonal (code) = S area_code = 0000 item_code = SAO ================================================================================== Section 5 ================================================================================== File Structure and Format: The following represents the file format used to define each data file. Note that the field numbers are for reference only; they do not exist in the database. Data files are in ASCII text format. Data elements are separated by tabs; the first record of each file contains the column headers for the data elements stored in each field. Each record ends with a new line character. The mu.data file as been partitioned into a number of files: See Section 2 The above-referenced data files have the following format: Field #/Data Element Length Value(Example) 1. series_id 17 MWSR0000SA0 2. year 4 1995 3. period 3 M01 4. value 12 148.00 5. footnote_codes 10 It varies The series_id (MWSR0000SA0) can be broken out into: Code Value survey abbreviation = MW seasonal (code) = S area_code = 0000 item_code = SAO ================================================================================ Section 6 ================================================================================ File Structure and Format: The following represents the file format used to define each mapping file. Note that the field numbers are for reference only; they do not exist in the database. Mapping files are in ASCII text format. Data elements are separated by tabs; the first record of each file contains the column headers for the data elements stored in each field. Each record ends with a new line character. File Name: mw.area Field #/Data Element Length Value(Example) 1. area_code 4 0100 2. area_name 30 Text File Name: mw.item Field #/Data Element Length Value(Example) 1. item_code 8 AA0 2. item_name 100 Text ========================================================================================= Section 7 ========================================================================================= CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (MW) DATABASE ELEMENTS Data Element Length Value(Example) Description area_code 4 A100 Unique code used to identify a specific geographic area. area_name 30 Text Name of specific geographic Ex: MIAMI, FLA area. base_code 1 S=Standard Code identifying the type of reference base base period used in index. A=Alternate reference base base_period 20 Identifies the The actual base period used base period in calculating the index. Ex: 1982-1984=100 begin_period 3 A01, M01-M13 Identifies first data observation or S01-S03 within the first year for which Ex: MO6=June data is available for a given (A=Annually,M=Monthly, time series. M13=Annual Avg,S=Semi- Annually,S03=Annual Avg) begin_year 4 YYYY Identifies first year for which Ex: 1975 data is available for a given time series. end_period 3 A01, M01-M13 Identifies last data observation or S01-S03 within the last year for which Ex: M06=June data is available for a given (A=Annually,M=Monthly, time series. M13=Annual Avg,S=Semi- Annually,S03=Annual Avg) end_year 4 YYYY Identifies last year for which Ex: 1980 data is available for a given time series. footnote_codes 10 It varies Identifies footnotes for the data series. item_code 8 AA0 Identifies item for which data observations pertain. item_name 100 Text Full names of items. period_abbr 5 Period name Abbreviation of period name. abbreviation Ex: JUN period 3 A01, M01-M13 Identifies period for which or S01-S03 data is observed. Ex: M06=June (A=Annually,M=Monthly, M13=Annual Avg,S=Semi- Annually,S03=Annual Avg) period_name 20 Text Full name of period to which Ex: June the data observation refers. periodicity_ 1 S=Semi-Annual Frequency of data observation. code R=Regular seasonal 1 S=Seasonally Code identifying whether the Adjusted data are seasonally adjusted. U=Unadjusted series_id 17 Code series Code identifying the specific identifier series. Ex: MWSR0000SA0 value 12 Index Price index for item. year 4 YYYY Identifies year of observation. Ex: 1990