|
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is one in a series of economic indicators
produced by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica as part of its objective to
provide an integrated set of statistical information on the social and economic
conditions of the people of Jamaica. Changes in the indices allow for
comparison of price movements over time, and are most often used as a measure of
the rate of inflation in the island.
The revised Consumer Price Index has been revised from the previous base period
of January 1988 to price and weight
references as of December 2006. This revised index is currently being used as
headline inflation for Jamaica and is comprised of a basket of goods and
services with an approximate total of 482 commodities. These are classified into
twelve divisions, where each item is assigned a weight which is reflective of
the importance of the item. The weight assigned to each division represents the
percentage share of its expenditure to total expenditure.
An international consumption classification system (as developed by the United
Nations Statistical Division) is used to categorize the basket of goods. This
system is called the Classification of Individual Consumption According to
Purpose (COICOP).
Although the geographical regions from the previous series remain the
nomenclature has changed for the current series. They are as follows:
- The
Greater Kingston
Metropolitan Region
- Other
Urban Centres
- Rural
Areas
|