The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics collects a wide range of data about American businesses, workers, and factors affecting the economy. Visit their Spotlight on Statistics website for reports on specific industries and economic indicators. Here is a sample of topics covered by this series:
Prices for tickets to sporting events are determined by a variety of factors, including the popularity of the sport, location of the venue, costs of broadcasting and advertising, and the state of the economy as a whole. Last year, Super Bowl prices saw an added twist, as fans of singer Taylor Swift have expanded the population of viewers well beyond the typical number of football fans.
For more details about Super Bowl-related prices, take a look at these news stories.
What are tariffs, and will they make consumer goods more expensive? Here are some helpful explanations of how tariffs work.
The Council on Foreign Relations answers basic questions about tariffs and other economic issues with their Backgrounder series of research reports:
The Economic Policy Institute clears up some common misunderstandings in their article Tariffs: Everything You Need to Know, But Were Afraid to Ask.
This article about Free Trade from the Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints database lays out the pros and cons of imposing tariffs on foreign goods.
Which Is Worse: The Regime Uncertainty or the Tariffs? is an episode in the Cato Institute's daily podcast.
For a global perspective, visit the World Economic Forum website and take a look at this report: How Do Tariffs Work -- And Do They Work?
Inflation 101: What Is Inflation? -- This basic explanation, starting with three short videos, is a good introduction if you're not familiar with the causes and effects of inflation. The information comes from the Center for Inflation Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
Inflation: Prices on the Rise -- This article is from the magazine F&D: Finance & Development, which is published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). To read more articles from F&D for free, use the ProQuest database.
Debunking 5 Top Inflation Myths -- Blog post from the Economic Policy Institute, a non-profit, non-partisan think tank dedicated to including the needs of low- and middle-income workers in economic policy discussions.
Consumer Price Index Inflation Calculator -- This tool will calculate the value of current dollars in an earlier year, to compare the difference in buying power between the two time periods.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics collects data for the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is a measure of the average change over time in prices paid by consumers for commonly used goods and services. Each of these Fact Sheets provides data about a specific category of consumer spending.
The Economic Research Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture keeps track of the many factors affecting food prices. For an overview of how food prices have changed over the last three years, read the Food Price Outlook, which includes downloadable spreadsheets.
Trade associations in particular industries can be a good source of information about consumer prices for occasions that involve paying for more than one thing. Here are some examples: