Prices in the greater Seattle Area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.3 percent for the two months ending October 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden noted that the October increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter and food. (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 2.1 percent. (See chart 1.) Energy prices declined 1.0 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.2 percent since October 2013.

 

Food

Food prices increased 1.5 percent from August to October. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home increased 1.9 percent, and prices for food away from home moved up 0.9 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 3.1 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 3.7 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home increased 2.3 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 7.6 percent for the two months ending in October 2014. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-11.2 percent). Prices for electricity declined 1.7 percent, and prices for natural gas service inched down 0.1 percent in the past two months.

Energy prices declined 1.0 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-1.4 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service declined 0.3 percent, but prices for electricity edged up 0.1 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.8 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for household furnishings and operations (3.6 percent), other goods and services (1.0 percent), and shelter (0.8 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-1.1 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.2 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (5.2 percent) and household furnishings and operations (1.7 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price declines in apparel (-2.0 percent) and medical care (-0.9 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	0.3	2.1
December	-0.3	1.4	-0.2	0.6	-0.5	3.5	-1.4	1.4	-0.7	1.3

 

CPI-W

In October, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 244.289, down 0.1 percent from August. The CPI-W increased 2.1 percent over the year.

The December 2014 Consumer Price Index for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton is scheduled to be released on January 16, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. (PST).

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 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-
	Aug. 2014	Sep. 2014	Oct. 2014	Oct. 2013	Aug. 2014	Sep. 2014
Expenditure category
All items	247.185	-	247.854	2.1	0.3	-
All items (1967=100)	753.515	-	755.556	-	-	-
Food and beverages	251.651	-	255.312	3.1	1.5	-
Food	254.356	-	258.088	3.1	1.5	-
Food at home	243.270	246.129	247.891	3.7	1.9	0.7
Food away from home	271.967	-	274.364	2.3	0.9	-
Alcoholic beverages	219.352	-	222.233	2.9	1.3	-
Housing	262.961	-	265.316	4.4	0.9	-
Shelter	293.361	293.370	295.754	5.2	0.8	0.8
Rent of primary residence (1)	294.088	295.688	299.349	5.8	1.8	1.2
Owners' equiv. rent of residences (1) (2)	305.695	307.565	309.846	4.8	1.4	0.7
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence (1) (2)	305.695	307.565	309.846	4.8	1.4	0.7
Fuels and utilities	245.025	-	242.516	1.0	-1.0	-
Household energy	224.812	224.948	222.046	-0.6	-1.2	-1.3
Energy services (1)	264.627	264.627	260.811	0.0	-1.4	-1.4
Electricity (1)	278.135	278.135	273.320	0.1	-1.7	-1.7
Utility (piped) gas service (1)	181.528	181.528	181.431	-0.3	-0.1	-0.1
Household furnishings and operations	170.341	-	176.461	1.7	3.6	-
Apparel	132.457	-	131.034	-2.0	-1.1	-
Transportation	232.224	-	225.988	-0.8	-2.7	-
Private transportation	244.922	-	234.493	-0.7	-4.3	-
Motor fuel	415.481	406.510	369.406	-1.4	-11.1	-9.1
Gasoline (all types)	423.981	414.469	376.308	-1.4	-11.2	-9.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular (3)	466.790	456.001	413.707	-1.2	-11.4	-9.3
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (3) (4)	325.075	318.582	289.853	-1.8	-10.8	-9.0
Gasoline, unleaded premium (3)	370.684	362.723	329.894	-1.7	-11.0	-9.1
Medical care	-	-	379.975	-0.9	-	-
Recreation (5)	95.960	-	96.519	-0.1	0.6	-
Education and communication (5)	138.462	-	139.337	1.1	0.6	-
Other goods and services	396.334	-	400.244	0.1	1.0	-
Commodity and service group
All items	247.185	-	247.854	2.1	0.3	-
Commodities	196.227	-	194.579	-0.2	-0.8	-
Commodities less food & beverages	167.938	-	163.971	-2.4	-2.4	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	206.163	-	198.004	-2.8	-4.0	-
Durables	129.046	-	129.225	-1.7	0.1	-
Services	295.122	-	297.855	3.5	0.9	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	241.196	-	241.886	2.3	0.3	-
All items less shelter	230.237	-	230.188	0.6	0.0	-
Commodities less food	170.191	-	166.491	-2.1	-2.2	-
Nondurables	228.273	-	225.673	0.2	-1.1	-
Nondurables less food	207.589	-	200.261	-2.3	-3.5	-
Services less rent of shelter (2)	304.823	-	308.030	1.6	1.1	-
Services less medical care services	286.160	-	289.029	3.9	1.0	-
Energy	327.589	323.100	302.738	-1.0	-7.6	-6.3
All items less energy	244.849	-	247.131	2.3	0.9	-
All items less food and energy	243.471	-	245.515	2.2	0.8	-
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.