The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), for the month of July, was unchanged.  Released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov/cpi or 202/691-6994) on August 13, the CPI-W for July is 213.898.  For purposes of calculating the next COLA (cost-of-living adjustment), the index, which will be averaged with the August and September indices, is still 0.74 percent below the 2008 third quarter average base index of 215.5.  (Due to price deflation, in the past measurement year, the 2008 third quarter average is still the point of comparison.)  August consumer price indices will be released Friday, September 17, 2010. (The formula for CPI calculation appears on page 6 of the 19 page BLS release. The URL is http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf) 

Benefits awarded under the Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA) to individuals suffering work-related injuries or illnesses are adjusted according to each calendar year’s percentage change in the CPI-W.  July’s index, 213.898 is 1.0 percent higher than the December 2009 index, 211.703.

CPI-W		Monthly % Change	% Toward Next COLA
Oct.	211.5	0.1	-1.9
Nov	212.0	0.2	-1.62
Dec	211.7	-0.1	-1.8
Jan	212.6	0.4	-1.4
Feb	212.5	0.0	-1.4
March	213.525	0.5	-0.9
April	213.96	0.2	-0.7
May	214.124	0.1	-0.6
June	213.839	-0.1	-0.8
July	213.898	0.0	-0.74