Consumer Price Index, CPI-U (CUUR0000SA0), and Current Population Survey (LNS14000000) · Prices, all items, not seasonally adjusted; unemployment, seasonally adjusted · Worked out by 500metrics
What is the US misery index?
The misery index was 7.9 in the month ended , up 0.5 percentage points from a year earlier.
Misery index: the yearly change in consumer prices plus the unemployment rate, each month
Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to .
Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to .
Misery index: the yearly change in consumer prices plus the unemployment rate, change from a year earlier, each month (ours)
Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to .
Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to .
Each point is one month of the index, worked out from the numbers the source publishes (ours), or a change worked out from those values (ours). The US recessions are shaded. Pointing at the chart shows the month and the value.
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Inspect and compare dates
The newest month beside the one before it and the nearest ones a year, five and ten years earlier. Every month since January 1948 is in the table under "The numbers behind the chart".
| Measure | Latest | The month before | A year earlier | Five years earlier | Ten years earlier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | |||||
| Misery index: the yearly change in consumer prices plus the unemployment rate | 7.9 | 7.5 | 7.4 | 10.1 | 6.5 |
| Change over a year | +0.5 pts | +0.3 pts | +0.9 pts | +0.9 pts | +1.5 pts |
The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.
Observed .
Right now
The misery index was 7.9 in September 2026, the highest since May 2026.
Over a year it is up 0.5 percentage points (ours).
ChangeOurs
| Period | Then | Change |
|---|---|---|
| One month | 7.5, the rate in | +0.4 percentage points |
| Three months | 7.7, the rate in | +0.2 percentage points |
| Twelve months | 7.4, the rate in | +0.5 percentage points |
| Five years | 10.1, the rate in | −2.2 percentage points |
| Ten years | 6.5, the rate in | +1.4 percentage points |
In historyOurs
The misery index of 7.9 in was higher than in 393 of the 943 other months since , the same in 10 and lower in 540.
Highest since : 22.0 in . Lowest since : 3.0 in .
AverageOurs
Average since : 9.17 (ours, a plain mean of the 944 months).
What it adds upOurs
The index of 7.9 in September 2026 is the change in consumer prices over a year, 3.7%, plus the unemployment rate, 4.2%.
Understanding the misery index
Where it stands today
The misery index was 7.9 in September 2026.
What does the misery index measure?
The misery index adds two numbers the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes: how much consumer prices rose over twelve months, in percent, and the unemployment rate, in percent. It is an informal sum that no agency publishes. It counts a point of each equally, and it says nothing about wages, hours or any one household.
Read more
What 500metrics adds: the sum for every month since the unemployment series begins in January 1948, the US recessions shaded as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them, the highest and lowest values and when the index was last higher or lower, the two numbers of the newest month, and every month in a table by year.
The numbers behind the chart
What was the misery index in each month?One row for each year since 1948, newest first
Each row is a year and each column a month. A dash is a month with no value: before the series began, after its newest month, or a month with no value because of the gaps the limits name. The highest and lowest values of the whole series are in bold.
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 6.7 | 6.8 | 7.6 | 8.1 | 8.5 | 7.7 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.9 | – | – | – |
| 2025 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 6.6 | 6.5 | 6.7 | 6.8 | 7.0 | 7.2 | 7.4 | – | 7.2 | 7.1 |
| 2024 | 6.8 | 7.1 | 7.4 | 7.3 | 7.2 | 7.1 | 7.1 | 6.7 | 6.5 | 6.7 | 6.9 | 7.0 |
| 2023 | 9.9 | 9.6 | 8.5 | 8.3 | 7.6 | 6.6 | 6.7 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 7.1 | 6.8 | 7.2 |
| 2022 | 11.5 | 11.8 | 12.2 | 12.0 | 12.2 | 12.7 | 12.0 | 11.9 | 11.7 | 11.3 | 10.7 | 10.0 |
| 2021 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 8.7 | 10.3 | 10.8 | 11.3 | 10.8 | 10.4 | 10.1 | 10.7 | 10.9 | 10.9 |
| 2020 | 6.1 | 5.8 | 5.9 | 15.1 | 13.3 | 11.6 | 11.2 | 9.7 | 9.2 | 8.1 | 7.9 | 8.1 |
| 2019 | 5.6 | 5.3 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 5.3 | 5.2 | 5.4 | 5.7 | 5.9 |
| 2018 | 6.1 | 6.3 | 6.4 | 6.5 | 6.6 | 6.9 | 6.7 | 6.5 | 6.0 | 6.3 | 6.0 | 5.8 |
| 2017 | 7.2 | 7.3 | 6.8 | 6.6 | 6.3 | 5.9 | 6.0 | 6.3 | 6.5 | 6.2 | 6.4 | 6.2 |
Show 69 more rows
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6.2 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 6.2 | 5.8 | 5.9 | 5.6 | 6.0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.4 | 6.8 |
| 2015 | 5.6 | 5.5 | 5.3 | 5.2 | 5.6 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.3 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 5.6 | 5.7 |
| 2014 | 8.2 | 7.8 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.4 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 7.8 | 7.6 | 7.4 | 7.1 | 6.4 |
| 2013 | 9.6 | 9.7 | 9.0 | 8.7 | 8.9 | 9.3 | 9.3 | 8.7 | 8.4 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.2 |
| 2012 | 11.2 | 11.2 | 10.9 | 10.5 | 9.9 | 9.9 | 9.6 | 9.8 | 9.8 | 10.0 | 9.5 | 9.6 |
| 2011 | 10.7 | 11.1 | 11.7 | 12.3 | 12.6 | 12.7 | 12.6 | 12.8 | 12.9 | 12.3 | 12.0 | 11.5 |
| 2010 | 12.4 | 11.9 | 12.2 | 12.1 | 11.6 | 10.5 | 10.6 | 10.6 | 10.6 | 10.6 | 10.9 | 10.8 |
| 2009 | 7.8 | 8.5 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 7.4 | 8.1 | 8.5 | 9.8 | 11.7 | 12.6 |
| 2008 | 9.3 | 8.9 | 9.1 | 8.9 | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.4 | 11.5 | 11.0 | 10.2 | 7.9 | 7.4 |
| 2007 | 6.7 | 6.9 | 7.2 | 7.1 | 7.1 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 6.6 | 7.5 | 8.2 | 9.0 | 9.1 |
| 2006 | 8.7 | 8.4 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 8.8 | 8.9 | 8.8 | 8.5 | 6.6 | 5.7 | 6.5 | 6.9 |
| 2005 | 8.3 | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.7 | 7.9 | 7.5 | 8.2 | 8.5 | 9.7 | 9.3 | 8.5 | 8.3 |
| 2004 | 7.6 | 7.3 | 7.5 | 7.9 | 8.7 | 8.9 | 8.5 | 8.1 | 7.9 | 8.7 | 8.9 | 8.7 |
| 2003 | 8.4 | 8.9 | 8.9 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 8.4 | 8.0 | 7.6 | 7.6 |
| 2002 | 6.8 | 6.8 | 7.2 | 7.5 | 7.0 | 6.9 | 7.3 | 7.5 | 7.2 | 7.7 | 8.1 | 8.4 |
| 2001 | 7.9 | 7.7 | 7.2 | 7.7 | 7.9 | 7.7 | 7.3 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 7.3 |
| 2000 | 6.7 | 7.3 | 7.8 | 6.9 | 7.2 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.5 | 7.4 | 7.3 | 7.3 | 7.3 |
| 1999 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 5.9 | 6.6 | 6.3 | 6.3 | 6.4 | 6.5 | 6.8 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| 1998 | 6.2 | 6.0 | 6.1 | 5.7 | 6.1 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 6.1 | 6.1 | 6.0 | 5.9 | 6.0 |
| 1997 | 8.3 | 8.2 | 8.0 | 7.6 | 7.1 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 7.0 | 7.1 | 6.8 | 6.4 | 6.4 |
| 1996 | 8.3 | 8.2 | 8.3 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.1 | 8.5 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
| 1995 | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 8.9 | 8.8 | 8.6 | 8.5 | 8.3 | 8.1 | 8.3 | 8.2 | 8.1 |
| 1994 | 9.1 | 9.1 | 9.0 | 8.8 | 8.4 | 8.6 | 8.9 | 8.9 | 8.9 | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.2 |
| 1993 | 10.6 | 10.3 | 10.1 | 10.3 | 10.3 | 10.0 | 9.7 | 9.6 | 9.4 | 9.6 | 9.3 | 9.2 |
| 1992 | 9.9 | 10.2 | 10.6 | 10.6 | 10.6 | 10.9 | 10.9 | 10.7 | 10.6 | 10.5 | 10.4 | 10.3 |
| 1991 | 12.1 | 11.9 | 11.7 | 11.6 | 11.9 | 11.6 | 11.2 | 10.7 | 10.3 | 9.9 | 10.0 | 10.4 |
| 1990 | 10.6 | 10.6 | 10.4 | 10.1 | 9.8 | 9.9 | 10.3 | 11.3 | 12.1 | 12.2 | 12.5 | 12.4 |
| 1989 | 10.1 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.3 | 10.6 | 10.5 | 10.2 | 9.9 | 9.6 | 9.8 | 10.1 | 10.0 |
| 1988 | 9.7 | 9.6 | 9.6 | 9.3 | 9.5 | 9.4 | 9.5 | 9.6 | 9.6 | 9.6 | 9.5 | 9.7 |
| 1987 | 8.1 | 8.7 | 9.6 | 10.1 | 10.2 | 9.9 | 10.0 | 10.3 | 10.3 | 10.5 | 10.3 | 10.1 |
| 1986 | 10.6 | 10.3 | 9.5 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 9.0 | 8.6 | 8.5 | 8.8 | 8.5 | 8.2 | 7.7 |
| 1985 | 10.8 | 10.7 | 10.9 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 11.2 | 11.0 | 10.4 | 10.2 | 10.3 | 10.5 | 10.8 |
| 1984 | 12.2 | 12.4 | 12.6 | 12.3 | 11.6 | 11.4 | 11.7 | 11.8 | 11.6 | 11.7 | 11.3 | 11.2 |
| 1983 | 14.1 | 13.9 | 13.9 | 14.1 | 13.6 | 12.7 | 11.9 | 12.1 | 12.1 | 11.7 | 11.8 | 12.1 |
| 1982 | 17.0 | 16.5 | 15.8 | 15.8 | 16.1 | 16.7 | 16.2 | 15.7 | 15.1 | 15.5 | 15.4 | 14.6 |
| 1981 | 19.3 | 18.8 | 17.9 | 17.2 | 17.3 | 17.1 | 18.0 | 18.2 | 18.6 | 18.0 | 17.9 | 17.4 |
| 1980 | 20.2 | 20.5 | 21.1 | 21.6 | 21.9 | 22.0 (highest value) | 20.9 | 20.6 | 20.1 | 20.3 | 20.1 | 19.7 |
| 1979 | 15.2 | 15.8 | 15.9 | 16.3 | 16.5 | 16.6 | 17.0 | 17.8 | 18.1 | 18.1 | 18.5 | 19.3 |
| 1978 | 13.2 | 12.7 | 12.9 | 12.6 | 13.0 | 13.3 | 13.9 | 13.7 | 14.3 | 14.7 | 14.8 | 15.0 |
| 1977 | 12.7 | 13.5 | 13.8 | 14.2 | 13.7 | 14.1 | 13.7 | 13.6 | 13.4 | 13.2 | 13.5 | 13.1 |
| 1976 | 14.6 | 14.0 | 13.7 | 13.7 | 13.6 | 13.6 | 13.2 | 13.5 | 13.1 | 13.2 | 12.7 | 12.7 |
| 1975 | 19.9 | 19.3 | 18.9 | 19.0 | 18.5 | 18.2 | 18.3 | 17.0 | 16.3 | 15.8 | 15.7 | 15.1 |
| 1974 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 15.8 | 16.3 | 17.0 | 16.4 | 17.8 | 18.1 | 18.8 | 19.5 |
| 1973 | 8.5 | 8.9 | 9.5 | 10.1 | 10.4 | 10.9 | 10.5 | 12.2 | 12.2 | 12.4 | 13.1 | 13.6 |
| 1972 | 9.1 | 9.2 | 9.3 | 9.2 | 8.9 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.7 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 8.6 |
| 1971 | 11.2 | 10.9 | 10.7 | 10.1 | 10.3 | 10.5 | 10.4 | 10.7 | 10.1 | 9.6 | 9.3 | 9.3 |
| 1970 | 10.1 | 10.3 | 10.2 | 10.7 | 10.8 | 10.9 | 11.0 | 10.5 | 11.1 | 11.1 | 11.5 | 11.7 |
| 1969 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 8.6 | 8.9 | 8.9 | 9.0 | 8.9 | 9.2 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.7 |
| 1968 | 7.3 | 7.8 | 7.6 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 7.9 | 8.2 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 8.1 |
| 1967 | 7.4 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 6.3 | 6.6 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 6.2 | 6.6 | 6.4 | 6.6 | 6.8 |
| 1966 | 5.9 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 6.7 | 6.8 | 6.3 | 6.6 | 7.3 | 7.2 | 7.5 | 7.4 | 7.3 |
| 1965 | 5.9 | 6.1 | 6.0 | 6.4 | 6.2 | 6.5 | 6.0 | 6.3 | 5.9 | 6.1 | 5.7 | 5.9 |
| 1964 | 7.2 | 7.0 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 6.4 | 6.5 | 6.2 | 6.0 | 6.4 | 6.1 | 6.1 | 6.0 |
| 1963 | 7.0 | 6.9 | 7.0 | 6.7 | 6.9 | 6.9 | 6.9 | 6.7 | 6.5 | 6.8 | 7.0 | 7.1 |
| 1962 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.6 | 6.9 | 6.8 | 6.8 | 6.4 | 7.0 | 6.9 | 6.7 | 7.0 | 6.8 |
| 1961 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 8.0 | 8.1 | 7.6 | 8.4 | 7.6 | 8.1 | 7.2 | 6.8 | 6.7 |
| 1960 | 6.2 | 6.5 | 7.1 | 6.9 | 6.8 | 7.1 | 6.9 | 7.0 | 6.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 8.0 |
| 1959 | 7.4 | 6.9 | 5.9 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 5.7 | 5.8 | 6.2 | 6.9 | 7.4 | 7.2 | 7.0 |
| 1958 | 9.4 | 9.6 | 10.3 | 11.0 | 10.6 | 10.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 | 9.2 | 8.8 | 8.3 | 8.0 |
| 1957 | 7.2 | 7.3 | 7.4 | 7.6 | 7.8 | 7.6 | 7.5 | 7.8 | 7.7 | 7.4 | 8.4 | 8.1 |
| 1956 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 5.4 | 6.2 | 6.6 | 6.0 | 5.8 | 6.1 | 6.5 | 7.2 |
| 1955 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| 1954 | 6.0 | 6.7 | 6.8 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 6.0 | 6.2 | 6.0 | 5.7 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 4.3 |
| 1953 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.0 (lowest value) | 3.4 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 5.2 |
| 1952 | 7.5 | 5.4 | 4.8 | 5.2 | 4.9 | 5.3 | 6.3 | 6.5 | 5.4 | 4.9 | 3.9 | 3.5 |
| 1951 | 11.8 | 12.8 | 12.7 | 12.4 | 12.3 | 12.0 | 10.6 | 9.7 | 10.3 | 10.0 | 10.4 | 9.1 |
| 1950 | 4.4 | 5.1 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 6.5 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 10.2 |
| 1949 | 5.6 | 6.0 | 6.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.4 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 4.5 |
| 1948 | 13.6 | 13.1 | 10.8 | 12.6 | 12.6 | 13.1 | 13.5 | 12.8 | 10.3 | 9.8 | 8.6 | 7.0 |
The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.
What is the misery index made of?Newest month of each number
| Part | Month | Value | Change over a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Change in consumer prices over a year | 3.7% | +0.7 pts | |
| Unemployment rate | 4.2% | −0.2 pts |
What do these figures leave out, and how are they cited?Limits, dates and how to cite
What this number cannot tell you
- The index is ours. We add two rounded numbers that BLS publishes; no agency publishes the sum, and it counts a point of price change the same as a point of unemployment.
- Prices are the consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U), all items, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted, and the change is over the same month a year before, to one decimal. Unemployment is the seasonally adjusted rate (U-3). The two numbers equal those on the pages for the inflation rate and the unemployment rate.
- BLS revises five years of seasonally adjusted unemployment rates each January, so an earlier value of the index can move by a tenth or two.
- October 2025 has no value. BLS collected neither the consumer price index nor the household survey for that month, because of the lapse in appropriations. The month is a gap in the chart.
- October 2026 has no value. Its change over a year needs the consumer price index of October 2025, which BLS did not collect. A month with no value for either number has none for the index, and nothing is filled in or estimated.
- A month has a value once BLS has published both numbers, so the newest month can be a month behind the unemployment rate for the days between the jobs report and the consumer price index of the same month.
Observed .
How to cite this
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index and Current Population Survey; the sum is worked out by 500metrics, Prices, all items, not seasonally adjusted; unemployment, seasonally adjusted, Worked out by 500metrics, through September 2026. Compiled by 500metrics, "What is the US misery index?", https://500metrics.com/misery-index.
Recession dates from the National Bureau of Economic Research.
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