Running at a 40-year high of 8.5%, inflation has caught the attention of nearly every American.

That's why U.S. consumers, and, more importantly, the markets, are going to pay keen attention to the consumer price index (CPI) when the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics releases it tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. EST.

But, can you really believe this number, from the U.S. government? Yes. Here’s 477 reasons why.

The Bureau employs 477 price checkers to scour the country to check on 100,000 goods and services, in addition to 8,000 housing units, every month, The Wall Street Journal reports.

These on-the-ground economists say their work is very exacting, explaining how assessing the price of even a can of chicken soup can involve an 11-page list for 12 data points — including flavor, size, brand, organic labeling, packaging materials, list of ingredients, etc.

Ironically, one of these price checkers, Maureen Greene, first came on board as a price checker in the inflationary boom of 1978. Forty-four years later, as assistant regional commissioner for the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Greene is now one of many leading economists at BLS.

Rigorous and precise, is how Greene and her colleagues call their work. They make sure they are comparing the exact product and service from month to month.

They’re also integral to recruiting business owners to participate in the voluntary program.

COVID lockdowns made their work more difficult in the past two years, when they had to learn how to get information through phone and Zoom calls, and from the Internet.

Attention is also key, Greene says: "If I were in a store trying to price my can of peas, and they were giving away gold bars in the next aisle, I would still be focused on pricing my can of peas."

Currently, they've discovered a new trick among manufacturers, which they are dubbing "shrink-flation," or the art of putting less food or fewer items in a package, but charging the same price.

So, when the CPI figure comes out first thing tomorrow morning, remember those who painstakingly collect the data for this critical inflation gauge.

More than mere footnotes, they are the true foot soldiers of the BLS.