JMP platforms and statistical methods

Graph Builder:
Time series graph, bar chart

Tabulate:
Table of summary statistics

Formula Editor:
Creating a new variable

Objective

Utilize historical data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to examine changes in food and utility costs over time through data visualization techniques and descriptive statistics. Use these visualizations to identify seasonal, short- and long-term trends, anomalies, and other insights into these costs.

Problem statement

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics retains historic data on the prices consumers pay for common goods such as food and utilities. Economists analyze these data to produce studies that help the government and financial institutions get visibility into the costs that families are incurring and how those costs are changing. This information is extremely valuable to guide various legislative and monetary policies.

One such summarized dataset consists of the average monthly prices from April 2003 through Feb 2026 on a set of goods averaged over a sample of locations across the country.