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One-Sentence Summary: The Consumer Price Index rose 2.7 percent over the 12 months ending November 2025, with a federal government shutdown in October disrupting normal monthly data collection and requiring the Bureau of Labor Statistics to report a two-month change instead.
Key Takeaways:
- The Consumer Price Index increased 2.7 percent over the 12 months ending November 2025, down from 3.0 percent in September
- A federal government shutdown in October prevented normal data collection, forcing measurement over a two-month period rather than the standard monthly comparison
- Core inflation, excluding food and energy, rose 2.6 percent over the past year
- Energy prices increased 4.2 percent over 12 months, with fuel oil up 11.3 percent and natural gas up 9.1 percent
- Food prices rose 2.6 percent over the year, with beef up 15.8 percent but egg prices falling 13.2 percent
- Shelter costs, the largest CPI component, increased 3.0 percent over 12 months
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics was unable to collect October 2025 survey data due to the lapse in appropriations
- Data collection resumed on November 14, 2025
- Long-term care insurance was removed from the health insurance index effective with this release
Article Summary:
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Consumer Price Index report for November 2025, showing that inflation increased 2.7 percent over the past year, continuing a period of relatively moderate price growth. However, the report comes with an important caveat — a federal government shutdown in October 2025 prevented the collection of survey data for that month, forcing the BLS to measure price changes over a two-month period from September to November rather than the standard month-to-month comparison.
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, known as CPI-U, increased 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis over the two months from September 2025 to November 2025. This measure tracks the prices paid by more than 90 percent of the U.S. population for goods and services. The 12-month inflation rate of 2.7 percent represents a slight decrease from the 3.0 percent rate recorded in the 12 months ending September.
The lapse in appropriations — the technical term for when government agencies run out of funding — meant that BLS was unable to collect survey data for October 2025. The agency notes that it could not retroactively collect these data once operations resumed. Data collection resumed on November 14, 2025. For most price indexes, BLS relies on survey data collected from thousands of retail establishments and housing units. However, for a few indexes that use nonsurvey data sources, the agency was able to retroactively acquire most of the October data.
Core inflation, which excludes the volatile food and energy categories and is closely watched by economists and policymakers, rose 0.2 percent over the two-month period. Over the past 12 months, the all items less food and energy index increased 2.6 percent, showing relatively stable underlying price pressures.
Examining specific categories, shelter costs increased 0.2 percent from September to November. This category, which includes rent and homeowners’ equivalent rent, is the largest component of the CPI and has been a significant driver of inflation in recent years. Over the past year, shelter costs rose 3.0 percent.
Energy prices showed more volatility, increasing 1.1 percent over the two-month period. The 12-month energy inflation rate stood at 4.2 percent. Within the energy category, gasoline prices rose 0.9 percent over the past year, while fuel oil jumped 11.3 percent. Electricity costs increased 6.9 percent over 12 months, and natural gas prices rose 9.1 percent over the same period.
Food prices increased modestly, rising 0.1 percent over the two months from September to November. Over the past year, food prices increased 2.6 percent. Food at home, which represents grocery store purchases, rose 1.9 percent over 12 months. The meats, poultry, fish, and eggs index rose 4.7 percent over the past year, with beef and veal showing particularly strong increases of 15.8 percent. In contrast, egg prices fell dramatically, declining 13.2 percent over the year. Dairy products also showed price decreases, with the index falling 1.6 percent over 12 months.
Food away from home, representing restaurant meals, increased 3.7 percent over the past year. Full-service restaurant meals rose 4.3 percent, while limited-service meals increased 3.0 percent.
Beyond the major categories, several other indexes showed notable changes. Medical care services increased 3.3 percent over the past year, while hospital services rose 5.7 percent. Transportation services increased 1.7 percent, though airline fares fell 5.4 percent over the year. Used cars and trucks increased 3.6 percent, while new vehicle prices rose only 0.6 percent.
The report also includes data for the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which represents approximately 30 percent of the U.S. population and increased 2.7 percent over the past year to an index level of 317.414. The Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U), which accounts for consumer substitution behavior when prices change, increased 2.6 percent over the past year.
Effective with this release, the Bureau of Labor Statistics removed long-term care insurance from the health insurance index due to market changes that made it out of scope and ineligible for pricing in the CPI market basket. This represents a methodological adjustment to ensure the index accurately reflects current consumer spending patterns.
The CPI data is collected monthly from approximately 22,000 retail establishments and 6,000 housing units in 75 urban areas across the country. The index measures price changes from a reference base, with most CPI-U and CPI-W indexes using 1982-84 as the base period equal to 100. The current all items index level of 324.122 means prices have increased approximately 224 percent since that reference period.
The disruption caused by the government shutdown highlights the importance of consistent government funding for producing reliable economic statistics. The next Consumer Price Index report, covering December 2025, is scheduled for release on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
Source:
“Consumer Price Index — November 2025.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 18 Dec. 2025, https://www.bls.gov/cpi
Important Quotations:
- “The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis over the 2 months from September 2025 to November 2025.”
- “Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 2.7 percent before seasonal adjustment.”
- “BLS did not collect survey data for October 2025 due to a lapse in appropriations.”
- “The all items index rose 2.7 percent for the 12 months ending November, after rising 3.0 percent over the 12 months ending September.”
- “The energy index increased 4.2 percent for the 12 months ending November.”
- “The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs rose 4.7 percent over the last 12 months.”
- “The index for dairy and related products decreased 1.6 percent over the same period.”
- “The shelter index increased 3.0 percent over the last year.”