{"id":30657,"date":"2022-08-12T23:44:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-12T23:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=30657"},"modified":"2022-08-13T12:42:57","modified_gmt":"2022-08-13T12:42:57","slug":"worried-about-back-to-school-inflation-latest-price-data-on-backpacks-laptops-and-kids-clothes-offers-some-relief-for-parents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/worried-about-back-to-school-inflation-latest-price-data-on-backpacks-laptops-and-kids-clothes-offers-some-relief-for-parents\/","title":{"rendered":"Worried about back-to-school inflation? Latest price data on backpacks, laptops and kids\u2019 clothes offers some relief for parents"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jay L. Zagorsky<\/a>, Boston University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As summer draws to a close, it is time for many to think about back-to-school shopping, such as notebooks, backpacks and new clothes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an economist<\/a> who has studied consumer prices for years, I wondered how soaring inflation<\/a> was affecting the costs of typical back-to-school gear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consumer prices rose<\/a> by about 8.5% in July from a year earlier, according to the latest data released on Aug. 10, 2022. But this figure is only an average. The price of some items<\/a>, like airline fares and gasoline, has jumped a lot more than that, while the cost of other items, like the price of televisions and phones, have actually fallen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To determine how the cost of paying for what school children need has changed, I tracked two sets of prices: First, the cost of back-to-school necessities. Second, the price of school lunches \u2013 since learning on an empty belly is hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clothes and backpacks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Children often seem to sprout during summer vacation<\/a>. This growth typically means they need new clothes for fall\u2019s cooler weather. The U.S. government\u2019s consumer price index has been following the price of both girls\u2019 and boys\u2019 clothes since 1977.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Government data shows the price of girls\u2019 clothing peaked in 1992. The price of boys\u2019 clothes peaked six years later, in 1998. Not only are clothes cheaper today than they were in the 1990s, but over the last 12 months prices for girls\u2019 clothes have increased by less than 2% \u2013 compared with overall inflation of 8.5%. The price of boys\u2019 clothes, however, jumped almost 5% last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going back to school also means new shoes, since kids\u2019 feet grow too. The average price for boys\u2019 and girls\u2019 footwear<\/a> has risen steadily since 1977. In the past year, the price of shoes and sneakers climbed by almost 8%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for school supplies, inflation has been a mixed bag. The price of notebooks and paper has soared in the past year, by 11%. And while the consumer price index doesn\u2019t track pencils, markers and crayons, its close cousin, the producer price index<\/a>, shows retailers are paying 11% more than they did last year for pencils and markers, while art supplies<\/a> have climbed almost 18%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prices of backpacks, on the other hand, increased at a much slower pace, up about 4% in July 2022 from 12 months earlier. And if your child needs a new laptop or tablet, you\u2019re in luck. The price of computers<\/a> has actually fallen by almost 4% from July 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putting these categories together into an equally weighted index suggests the cost of going back to school won\u2019t hurt your wallet as much as parents might fear. My back-to-school index rose about 5.1% in July from a year earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The index also shows prices are virtually unchanged from about a decade ago. This is small consolation for parents who didn\u2019t have students in school 10 years ago. However, it does show that the prices of back to school items are not always increasing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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