Table 2 Changes in Price Levels (March 2026)
12-Month % Change
1-Month % Change
Consumer Price Index (1982 - 84 = 100) Core CPI (CPI Less Food and Energy)
3.3 2.6
0.9 0.2
Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index
N/A
N/A
Producer Price Index (PPI)
4.0
0.5
Description: • Consumer Price Index: Measures the average monthly change in the price of a representative basket of goods and services bought by consumers. • Core CPI (CPI less food & energy): Measures the average monthly change in prices for a typical basket of goods, excluding food and energy. • Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE): Captures monthly changes in price levels over a wider range of consumer expenditures that account for changes in consumer behavior. • Producer Price Index (PPI): Measures the average change in selling prices received by domestic producers for their output. Output includes intermediate goods along with final goods and services. Analysis: • The annual increase in CPI in March was 3.3%, up from the 2.4% increase in February. This dramatic rise in the CPI reflected much higher energy prices resulting from the Iran war. Gasoline alone rose by 19.4% in March. • The impact of higher energy prices accounted for the much lower Core CPI of 2.6%, which excludes the highly volatile sectors of food and energy. • We aren’t able to post numbers for the Personal Consumption Expenditures Index because of the unusually late release of data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. • The Producer Price Index captures changes in price levels experienced by upstream manufacturers and wholesalers during different stages of production. It is often a leading indicator of changes in consumer prices.
Table 3 National Employment Indicators (First Quarter) 2025 First Quarter
2026 First Quarter
Unemployment Rate
4.2
4.3
Labor Force Participation Rate Employment-Population Ratio
62.5 59.9
61.9 59.2
Description: • Unemployment Rate: The number of unemployed as a percentage of the labor force. • Labor Force Participation Rate: The percentage of the population that is either working or actively looking for work. • Employment-Population Ratio: The share of the total population that are employed. Analysis: • The unemployment rate remains steady at 4.3%. • The labor force participation rate and the employment-population ratio have declined modestly over the last year.
Central Wisconsin Report - Spring 2026
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