The data used here are series that are up to date to the latest available observation and they are updated every day at midnight.
The CPI
There is a new observation for the CPI announced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) around the 10th to 14th of the following month. The values of the observations for the CPI are not revised. Our comparator uses the new number from the day after it is announced.
While the BLS publishes this series for the years 1913 to the present, there are many issues with the early construction. For this reason, the series on MeasuringWorth has improvements to the official series and is identical to the BLS series only from 1978 onward. Click here for more discussion of the construction of the CPI hosted on MeasuringWorth.
The GDP
The quarterly and annual GDP data are revised several times a year. The quarterly data are presented in the Initial, Advance, Second and Third estimates after the quarter ends. Thus the answers using GDP data will change over the year by a small amount.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) publishes the GDP series from 1929 to the present. For the earlier years MeasuringWorth hosts the most accepted historical annual estimates of the series from 1790 to 1929. Click here for more discussion of the construction of the GDP hosted on MeasuringWorth.
The Wage Series
The current observations of the Unskilled Wage Index and Compensation of Production Workers series are based on BLS series that are published quarterly with a lag of three months or more. They are not revised after they are published. Both of these series were constructed by the founders of the MeasuringWorth. Click here for more discussion of the wage series hosted on MeasuringWorth.
The Household Expenditure Series
This series was also created by one of the founders of MeasuringWorth. The current observations of the value of the US Consumer Bundle are updated every September for the previous year. In the short run, this series is closely linked to the per capita GDP, so the latest observations are proxied by the growth in that series. Click here for more discussion of the consumer bundle series hosted on MeasuringWorth.
Citation
"What is a Dollar from the Past Worth Today?" MeasuringWorth, .
