OFFICIAL US CPI INFLATION RATE VS ALPHA-CPI

Since 1980, the BLS has changed the method used to calculate the CPI-U inflation rate twice. Important consumer items like energy and food were omitted. The Alpha-CPI includes several items that 99% of Americans must purchase, many of which have increased as a percentage of overall expense since the BLS made the changes. Put simply, the official number does not accurately reflect what American's pay to survive. This chart will be updated with additional CPI components.

NEW: Alpha Alternative Economic Analysis

Alpha REAL Unemployment Rate (U-Alpha):

The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases unemployment numbers each month. The number announced by the government and the mainline media is ths the U-3, which excludes important groups from the index. The U-6 (the former official unemployment figure in 1994) includes people who are are no longer looking for work but indicate that they have searched for a job within the past 12 months including discouraged workers as well as full-time job seekers who settled for part-time work. The U-Alpha adds one additional category of unemployed worker (similar but not identical to the shadowstats.com figure):