The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recorded responses for 66.3% of targeted goods and services quotes in September, a measure that cannot show whether gaps changed the inflation reading.
BLS figures put the response share at 65.9% in August and 67.6% in September 2025. The latest result falls between the previous month and the same month a year earlier.
The percentage counts responses among targeted observations in the unweighted Commodities and Services Survey. It is not the share of the overall Consumer Price Index (CPI) estimated from incomplete data: housing is surveyed separately, and the BLS draws some prices from other sources.
BLS says response rates can indicate possible bias in survey estimates, though they cannot establish that bias exists. The collection percentage offers no basis for deciding whether nonresponses changed September's CPI result, and it gives no estimate of any such change.
September's CPI showed consumer prices up 0.6% from August after seasonal adjustment and 3.7% from a year earlier before adjustment. The unadjusted annual increase was 3.4% in August. EconoTimes' earlier report on September inflation covered the release.
A BLS comparison of approaches to missing survey replies using 2018-2023 data found only small differences in the national all-items CPI. That exercise predates the 2025 collection reductions, so its results do not measure the effect those cuts may have had on September inflation.
In 2025, the BLS reduced collection of prices and rents in several areas to align its workload with available resources. The agency resumed recruiting and training field staff in November.
The Federal Reserve (Fed) raised its target interest rate range Sept. 16 to 3.75%–4%. The Fed is due to announce its next decision Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 2 p.m. ET (18:00 UTC). The October CPI report is due at 8:30 a.m. ET (13:30 UTC) Nov. 10.
