Between the first and second quarters of 2016, the general level of misery experienced by people in the United States decreased and remains well below the 2015 level. This can be attributed to continued decreases in the unemployment rate, low levels of inflation and increases in housing prices. The level of misery in Kansas also decreased between the first and second quarters and remains below the 2015 level.
Within each of the metropolitan areas in Kansas, the misery index remains lower than in the United States as a whole.
The Misery Index, as calculated by the Center for Economic Development and Business Research (CEDBR), includes the following components:
- The Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
- The House Price Index (HPI) from the Federal Housing Finance Agency
- Unemployment Rates (UR) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics