Misery in the United States, Kansas and the Wichita MSA, as measured by the Misery Index, declined from third to fourth quarter 2012. Eleven other MSAs tracked by CEDBR also experienced a drop in their misery levels.
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