The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater rose 0.1 percent from September to November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the index for all items less food and energy increased 0.3 percent since September. The food index rose 0.1 percent over the bi-monthly period, while the energy index declined 3.6 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The all items CPI-U increased 3.2 percent from November 2019 to November 2020. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.5 percent over the past 12 months, while the food index jumped 7.5 percent. In contrast, the energy index fell 10.3 percent over the past year. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index rose 0.1 percent from September to November, reflecting a 0.5-percent increase in the food away from home index. The food at home index edged down 0.2 percent over the bi-monthly period.

The food index advanced 7.5 percent for the 12 months ending in November, led by a 11.0-percent jump in the food at home index. The food way from home index also increased over the past year, up 3.3 percent.

Energy

The energy index declined 3.6 percent from September to November, reflecting an 8.0-percent drop in the gasoline index. The utility (piped) gas service index declined 2.8 percent over the bi-monthly period, while the electricity index was unchanged.

The energy index fell 10.3 percent for the 12 months ending in November, led by a 19.3-percent fall in the gasoline index. The electricity and the utility (piped) gas service indexes also declined over the past year, down 2.1 percent and 11.1 percent, respectively.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent from September to November. Notable indexes that increased since September include new vehicles (3.9 percent), shelter (0.4 percent), and medical care (0.8 percent). Recreation (-3.5 percent) and motor vehicle insurance (-7.4 percent) were among the indexes to decline over the bi-monthly period.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.5 percent for the 12 months ending in November. Increases in the shelter (4.4 percent) and medical care (7.8 percent) indexes contributed to the over-the-year increase.

Table A. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2018		2019		2020
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
January	0.8		-1.1	0.4	0.7	3.8
March	0.6		1.9	1.7	0.2	2.1
May	0.4		0.9	2.2	-0.3	0.9
July	0.3		0.1	2.1	1.0	1.8
September	0.6		-0.1	1.5	1.4	3.3
November	-0.3	2.3	0.2	2.0	0.1	3.2

The Consumer Price Index for December 2020 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 13, 2021.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measures of the average change in prices over time in a fixed market basket of goods and services. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) a CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) which covers approximately 93 percent of the total U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. population. The CPI-U includes, in addition to wage earners and clerical workers, groups such as professional, managerial, and technical workers, the self-employed, short-term workers, the unemployed, and retirees and others not in the labor force.

The CPI is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, and fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors' and dentists' services, drugs, and the other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. Each month, prices are collected in 75 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 retail establishments—department stores, supermarkets, hospitals, filling stations, and other types of stores and service establishments. All taxes directly associated with the purchase and use of items are included in the index.

The index measures price changes from a designated reference date; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000.  Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods available on the internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/.

In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each location are averaged together with weights that represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Local data are then combined to obtain a U.S. city average. Because the sample size of a local area is smaller, the local area index is subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error than the national index. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. As a result, local area indexes show greater volatility than the national index, although their long-term trends are quite similar. NOTE: Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices between cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.

The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, Core Based Statistical Area includes Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas Counties.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.