The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Cincinnati-Hamilton area rose 2.0 percent from the first half of 2016 to the first half of 2017, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that the all items less food and energy index was 1.4 percent higher compared to its first half 2016 level as price increases were noted for several categories: shelter, medical care, and apparel. Food prices increased 0.9 percent over the year and the index for energy rose 11.2 percent. (See chart 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.9 percent from their first half 2016 levels. Within the food category, prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) were up 2.4 percent while the index for food at home (groceries) was 0.2 percent lower.

Energy

The energy index rose 11.2 percent from the first half of 2016 to the first half of 2017. Within the energy category, the indexes for electricity and gasoline advanced 12.9 percent and 10.9 percent, respectively, over the year. The index for utility (piped) gas service rose 6.3 percent compared to its first half 2016 level.

All items less food and energy

The all items less food and energy index increased 1.4 percent over the year. Among the index’s components, higher costs were recorded for shelter (2.1 percent), medical care (2.5 percent), and apparel (5.8 percent).

The second half 2017 Consumer Price Index for Cincinnati-Hamilton is scheduled to be released in January 2018.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure 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 89 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 28 percent of the total 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 87 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 24,000 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 (1982-84) that equals 100.0. An increase of 16.5 percent, for example, is shown as 116.5. This change can also be expressed in dollars as follows: the price of a base period "market basket" of goods and services in the CPI has risen from $10 in 1982-84 to $11.65. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch17.pdf.

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 Cincinnati-Hamilton, Ohio-Ky.-Ind. consolidated area covered in this release is comprised of Dearborn and Ohio Counties in Indiana; Boone, Campbell, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton, and Pendleton Counties in Kentucky; and Brown, Butler, Clermont, Hamilton and Warren Counties in Ohio.

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.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes for semiannual averages and percent changes for selected periods
Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH-KY-IN (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Semiannual average indexes			Percent change to 1st half 2017 from-
	1st half 2016	2nd half 2016	1st half 2017	1st half 2016	2nd half 2016
Expenditure category
All items	224.871	227.927	229.335	2.0	0.6
All items (1967=100)	695.799	705.255	709.613	-	-
Food and beverages	220.140	219.781	222.185	0.9	1.1
Food	216.751	216.196	218.607	0.9	1.1
Food at home	209.126	206.539	208.620	-0.2	1.0
Food away from home	231.605	234.263	237.227	2.4	1.3
Alcoholic beverages	247.588	249.569	251.743	1.7	0.9
Housing	209.499	212.323	214.645	2.5	1.1
Shelter	239.862	243.841	244.930	2.1	0.4
Rent of primary residence(1)	244.768	249.311	253.270	3.5	1.6
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)	240.588	245.297	245.519	2.0	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	240.588	245.297	245.519	2.0	0.1
Fuels and utilities	225.311	231.635	246.023	9.2	6.2
Household energy	186.475	192.717	207.745	11.4	7.8
Energy services(1)	192.795	199.184	215.235	11.6	8.1
Electricity(1)	199.454	205.313	225.254	12.9	9.7
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	164.191	172.189	174.500	6.3	1.3
Household furnishings and operations	117.333	115.082	115.173	-1.8	0.1
Apparel	144.038	151.042	152.430	5.8	0.9
Transportation	197.109	198.321	199.292	1.1	0.5
Private transportation	193.666	195.197	196.112	1.3	0.5
Motor fuel	199.362	215.459	221.277	11.0	2.7
Gasoline (all types)	198.855	214.872	220.619	10.9	2.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)	202.113	218.077	224.035	10.8	2.7
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)	201.443	219.556	224.537	11.5	2.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)	192.189	210.113	214.841	11.8	2.3
Medical care	491.865	508.081	504.187	2.5	-0.8
Recreation(5)	128.820	132.442	132.641	3.0	0.2
Education and communication(5)	128.352	129.374	128.533	0.1	-0.7
Other goods and services	492.706	498.211	501.138	1.7	0.6
Commodity and service group
All items	224.871	227.927	229.335	2.0	0.6
Commodities	175.107	176.784	176.992	1.1	0.1
Commodities less food & beverages	151.830	154.320	153.602	1.2	-0.5
Nondurables less food & beverages	185.716	194.868	195.779	5.4	0.5
Durables	119.028	116.238	114.286	-4.0	-1.7
Services	277.669	282.204	284.904	2.6	1.0
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	212.581	215.034	216.685	1.9	0.8
All items less shelter	221.073	223.792	225.341	1.9	0.7
Commodities less food	155.549	158.032	157.404	1.2	-0.4
Nondurables	203.887	208.471	210.116	3.1	0.8
Nondurables less food	190.707	199.400	200.402	5.1	0.5
Services less rent of shelter(2)	329.545	334.462	339.296	3.0	1.4
Services less medical care services	260.135	264.203	267.182	2.7	1.1
Energy	194.644	205.585	216.459	11.2	5.3
All items less energy	230.987	233.397	233.996	1.3	0.3
All items less food and energy	235.036	238.029	238.283	1.4	0.1
Footnotes (1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (2) Index is on a November 1982=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
- Data not available. Note: Data not seasonally adjusted.