Population Boom Attracts Federal Economists

Wednesday, Oct. 23, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

The U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics plans to include Las Vegas among the cities that contribute information for the monthly Consumer Price Index.

Department economist Paul Fletcher said every 10 years the department revises the list, adding some new cities and dropping old ones. The decision is based on population, demographics and spending patterns.

The bureau is adding Las Vegas; Phoenix; Modesto and Chico, Calif.; Bend, Ore.; and Pullman, Wash. to its list of CPI cities. It is dropping Fresno and Redding, Calif., Tucson, Ariz.; and Yakima, Wash.

The process of adding and dropping cities will take about 15 months. The bureau will begin working next month with about 280 businesses in Las Vegas to launch the process of including about 1,100 Las Vegas prices in the CPI.

Las Vegas will join the bureau's list of "B" cities, which have populations between 330,000 and 1.25 million. The Las Vegas area has a population just over 1 million.

As a "B" city, Las Vegas will not have its own CPI. Many of the larger "A" cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco have their own CPI.

The CPI measures changes over time in the cost of buying a fixed market basket of goods and services needed for day-to-day living by urban consumers.

Social Security benefits and many pension, employment and legal contracts such as divorces and rental agreements are tied to changes in the CPI as protection against inflation and reduced purchasing power, Fletcher explained.

CPI components include housing costs, food, transportation and utilities.