Prices in the greater Seattle Area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), declined 0.2 percent for the two months ending August 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden noted that the August decrease was influenced by lower prices for gasoline. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 1.8 percent. (See chart 1.) Energy prices advanced 1.0 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.7 percent since August 2013.

 

Food

Food prices advanced 0.4 percent from June to August. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 0.4 percent, and prices for food away from home increased 0.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices moved up 2.7 percent. Prices for food at home increased 3.5 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home advanced 1.7 percent.

Energy

The energy index declined 1.6 percent for the two months ending in August 2014. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-2.4 percent). Prices for electricity and natural gas service were both unchanged in August.

Energy prices advanced 1.0 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (1.2 percent). Prices paid for electricity advanced 0.3 percent, but prices for natural gas service edged down 0.1 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy inched down 0.1 percent in the latest two-month period. Lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-0.4 percent) were partially offset by higher prices for other goods and services (1.8 percent) and apparel (0.6 percent.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.7 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (4.4 percent) and education and communication (1.5 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price declines in other goods and services (-1.8 percent) and recreation (-1.0 percent).

Table A. Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton CPI-U bi-monthly and annual percent changes (not seasonally adjusted)

Month	2009		2010		2011		2012		2013		2014
	Bi-monthly	Annual	Bi-monthly	Annual	Bi-monthly	Annual	Bi-monthly	Annual	Bi-monthly	Annual	Bi-monthly	Annual
February	1.0	1.4	0.2	0.6	1.2	1.5	0.4	2.7	0.8	1.8	0.7	1.2
April	0.5	1.2	0.2	0.3	0.8	2.1	0.9	2.9	0.4	1.2	1.6	2.4
June	0.6	-0.4	-0.2	-0.5	0.8	3.2	0.7	2.7	0.8	1.4	0.4	2.0
August	-0.1	-0.3	0.7	0.2	0.2	2.7	0.3	2.7	0.0	1.1	-0.2	1.8
October	-0.4	0.2	-0.2	0.4	0.9	3.8	0.5	2.3	0.0	0.6
December	-0.3	1.4	-0.2	0.6	-0.5	3.5	-1.4	1.4	-0.7	1.3

CPI-W

In August, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 244.471, up 0.1 percent from June. The CPI-W increased 2.1 percent over the year.

The October 2014 Consumer Price Index for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton is scheduled to be released on November 20, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. (PDT)

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 88 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 29 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 4,000 housing units and approximately 26,000 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/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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of Island, King, Kitsap, Pierce, Snohomish, and Thurston Counties in the State of Washington.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods

Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Jun. 2014	Jul. 2014	Aug. 2014	Aug. 2013	Jun. 2014	Jul. 2014
Expenditure category
All items	247.642	-	247.185	1.8	-0.2	-
All items (1967=100)	754.908	-	753.515	-	-	-
Food and beverages	250.598	-	251.651	2.7	0.4	-
Food	253.459	-	254.356	2.7	0.4	-
Food at home	242.263	244.952	243.270	3.5	0.4	-0.7
Food away from home	271.234	-	271.967	1.7	0.3	-
Alcoholic beverages	216.806	-	219.352	2.5	1.2	-
Housing	262.109	-	262.961	3.7	0.3	-
Shelter	292.035	293.733	293.361	4.4	0.5	-0.1
Rent of primary residence (1)	291.354	292.478	294.088	5.0	0.9	0.6
Owners' equiv. rent of residences (1) (2)	303.737	304.845	305.695	4.6	0.6	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence (1) (2)	303.737	304.845	305.695	4.6	0.6	0.3
Fuels and utilities	245.154	-	245.025	1.3	-0.1	-
Household energy	224.993	225.030	224.812	-0.1	-0.1	-0.1
Energy services (1)	264.627	264.627	264.627	0.3	0.0	0.0
Electricity (1)	278.135	278.135	278.135	0.3	0.0	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service (1)	181.528	181.528	181.528	-0.1	0.0	0.0
Household furnishings and operations	171.010	-	170.341	0.3	-0.4	-
Apparel	131.654	-	132.457	0.8	0.6	-
Transportation	238.696	-	232.224	-0.3	-2.7	-
Private transportation	246.382	-	244.922	0.4	-0.6	-
Motor fuel	425.676	428.765	415.481	1.3	-2.4	-3.1
Gasoline (all types)	434.427	437.641	423.981	1.2	-2.4	-3.1
Gasoline, unleaded regular (3)	478.512	481.929	466.790	1.2	-2.4	-3.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (3) (4)	333.057	335.973	325.075	1.0	-2.4	-3.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium (3)	378.900	381.655	370.684	1.1	-2.2	-2.9
Medical care	384.350	-	NA	-	-	-
Recreation (5)	95.482	-	95.960	-1.0	0.5	-
Education and communication (5)	137.942	-	138.462	1.5	0.4	-
Other goods and services	389.300	-	396.334	-1.8	1.8	-
Commodity and service group
All items	247.642	-	247.185	1.8	-0.2	-
Commodities	196.741	-	196.227	0.4	-0.3	-
Commodities less food & beverages	169.136	-	167.938	-1.1	-0.7	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	208.437	-	206.163	-0.3	-1.1	-
Durables	129.177	-	129.046	-2.1	-.01	-
Services	295.533	-	295.122	2.8	-0.1	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	241.455	-	241.196	2.0	-0.1	-
All items less shelter	231.449	-	230.237	0.6	-0.5	-
Commodities less food	171.242	-	170.191	-0.9	-0.6	-
Nondurables	228.983	-	228.273	1.1	-0.3	-
Nondurables less food	209.497	-	207.589	0.0	-0.9	-
Services less rent of shelter (2)	307.468	-	304.823	0.9	-0.9	-
Services less medical care services	286.590	-	286.160	3.1	-0.2	-
Energy	332.865	334.454	327.589	1.0	-1.6	-2.1
All items less energy	245.007	-	244.849	1.9	-0.1	-
All items less food and energy	243.804	-	243.471	1.7	-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: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.