Helped by a continuing surge in children’s shoe prices, footwear enjoyed its ninth straight month of year-over-year price increases in March, rising by 2.8%, according to consumer price index (CPI) data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The increase in footwear prices gave a boost to the combined apparel and footwear price index, which had its smallest decline in four months, falling by only .5%.
The boys’ and girls’ footwear price index skyrocketed by 9.6%, its biggest increase in almost a decade, and the continuation of a trend begun a year ago, helped by a recovering economy and job market, in which parents are starting to feel more comfortable investing in higher quality shoes for their children.
The men’s and women’s footwear price indices each rose by .8%. For men’s footwear, it was the lowest increase in almost a year.
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Overall unadjusted inflation in the U.S. actually fell slightly in March. Excluding food, whose prices increased, and energy, which plunged due to another drop in crude oil prices, inflation rose by 1.8%.
