WHOLESALE AND RETAIL PRICES Retail Prices of Food in March, 1931 1 HE following tables are compiled from simple averages of the actual selling prices received monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics from retail dealers. Table 1 shows for the United States retail prices of food March 15, 1930, and February 15 and March 15, 1931, as well as the percentage changes in the year and in the month. For example, the retail price per pound of flour was 5.0 cents on March 15, 1930; 4.0 cents on February 15, 1931; and 3.9 cents on March 15, 1931. These figures show decreases of 22 per cent in the year and 3 per cent in the month. The cost of various articles of food combined shows a decrease of 15.8 per cent March 15, 1931, as compared with March 15, 1930, and a decrease of 0.5 per cent March 15, 1931, as compared with February 15, 1931. TABLE 1.-AVERAGE RETAIL PRICES OF SPECIFIED FOOD ARTICLES AND PER CENT OF INCREASE OR DECREASE MARCH 15, 1931, COMPARED WITH FEBRUARY 15, 1930, AND MARCH 15, 1931 [Percentage changes of five-tenths of 1 per cent and over are given in whole numbers] In addition to monthly retail prices of food and coal, the bureau publishes periodically the prices of gas and electricity for household use in each of 51 cities. At present this information is being collected in June and December of each year. TABLE 1.-AVERAGE RETAIL PRICES OF SPECIFIED FOOD ARTICLES AND PER CENT OF INCREASE OR DECREASE MARCH 15, 1931, COMPARED WITH FEBRUARY 15, 1930, AND MARCH 15, 1931-Continued Table 2 shows for the United States average retail prices of specified food articles on March 15, 1913, and on March 15 of each year from 1925 to 1931, together with percentage changes in March of each of these specified years compared with March, 1913. For example, the retail price per pound of rice was 8.6 cents in March, 1913; 10.9 cents in March, 1925; 11.7 cents in March, 1926; 10.8 cents in March, 1927; 10.1 cents in March, 1928; 9.8 cents in March, 1929; 9.5 cents in March, 1930; and 8.6 cents in March, 1931. As compared with March, 1913, these figures show increases of 27 per cent in March, 1925; 36 per cent in March, 1926, 26 per cent in March, 1927; 17 per cent in March, 1928; 14 per cent in March, 1929; and 10 per cent in March, 1930. In March, 1931, the price was the same as it was in March, 1913. The cost of the various articles of food combined showed an increase of 30.3 per cent in March, 1931, as compared with March, 1913. TABLE 2.-AVERAGE RETAIL PRICES OF SPECIFIED FOOD ARTICLES AND PER CENT OF INCREASE MARCH 15 OF CERTAIN SPECIFIED YEARS COMPARED WITH MARCH 15, 1913 [Percentage changes of five-tenths of 1 per cent and over are given in whole numbers] Article Average retail prices on Mar. 15 Per cent of increase Mar. 15 of each specified year compared with Mar. 15, 1913 1913 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1 Decrease. 14.6 14.6 14.3 13.6 11.6 12.2 11.3 55.9 64.9 58.5 56.1 57.8 54.8 30.3 2 Beginning with January, 1921, index numbers showing the trend of the retail cost of food have been composed of the articles shown in Tables 1 and 2, weighted according to the consumption of the average family. From January, 1913, to December, 1920, the index numbers included the following articles: Sirloin steak, round steak, rib roast, chuck roast, plate beef, pork chops, bacon, ham, lard, hens, flour, corn meal, eggs, butter, milk, bread, potatoes, sugar, cheese, rice, coffee, and tea. Table 3 shows the trend in the retail cost of three important groups of food commodities, viz, cereals, meats, and dairy products, by years, from 1913 to 1930, and by months for 1929, 1930, and 1931. The articles within these groups are as follows: Cereals: Bread, flour, corn meal, rice, rolled oats, corn flakes, wheat cereal, and macaroni. Meats: Sirloin steak, round steak, rib roast, chuck roast, plate beef, pork chops, bacon, ham, hens, and leg of lamb. Dairy products: Butter, cheese, fresh milk, and evaporated milk. TABLE 3.-INDEX NUMBERS OF RETAIL COST OF CEREALS, MEATS, AND DAIRY PRODUCTS FOR THE UNITED STATES, 1913, TO MARCH, 1931 Index Numbers of Retail Prices of Food in the United States IN TABLE 4 index numbers are given which show the changes in the retail prices of specified food articles, by years, for 1913 and 1920 to 1930,2 by months for 1930 and 1931. These index numbers, or relative prices, are based on the year 1913 as 100, and are computed by dividing the average price of each commodity for each month and each year by the average price of that commodity for 1913. These figures must be used with caution. For example, the relative price of sirloin steak for the year 1930 was 182.7, which means that the average money price for the year 1930 was 82.7 per cent higher than the average money price for the year 1913. As compared with the relative price, 196.9 in 1929, the figures for 1930 show a decrease of 14.2 points, but a decrease of 7.2 per cent in the year. In the last column of Table 4 are given index numbers showing changes in the retail cost of all articles of food combined. Since January, 1921, these index numbers have been computed from the average prices of the articles of food shown in Tables 1 and 2, weighted * For index numbers of each month, January, 1913, to December, 1928, see Bulletin No. 396, pp. 44 to 61; and Bulletin No. 495, pp. 32 to 45. Index numbers for 1929 are published in each Labor Review, February, 1930, to February, 1931. according to the average family consumption in 1918. (See March. 1921, issue, p. 25.) Although previous to January, 1921, the number of food articles varied, these index numbers have been so computed as to be strictly comparable for the entire period. The index numbers based on the average for the year 1913 as 100.0 are 127.0 for February, 1931, and 126.4 for March, 1931. TABLE 4.-INDEX NUMBERS OF RETAIL PRICES OF PRINCIPAL ARTICLES OF FOOD BY YEARS, 1913, 1920, TO 1930, AND BY MONTHS FOR 1930 AND 1931 |