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This calculator shows the year-over-year percent change in inflation with and without three components: food costs, energy costs, and shelter costs.

This calculator shows the year-over-year percent change in inflation with and without three components: food costs, energy costs, and shelter costs. Because these components sometimes have different fundamental drivers than inflation overall, removing them from the overall inflation rate can provide an alternative perspective on whether inflation is high and whether the economy is overheating. If inflation without these components is below the overall rate and also, as a rule of thumb, below 2 percent, there may be more slack in the labor market than the overall inflation rate would indicate. This may be evidence that the Federal Reserve should be cautious in raising interest rates to slow the economy.