Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

News Release Information

16-122-SAN
Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Consumer Price Index, Phoenix – Second Half 2015

Area prices were up 1.1 percent over the past six months, up 0.5 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Phoenix Area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 1.1 percent in the second half of 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden noted that this latest six-month increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter and electricity. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, six-month-to-six-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 0.5 percent. (See chart 1.) Energy prices dropped 12.1 percent, largely the result of an decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.6 percent over the year.

Food

Food prices increased 0.9 percent in the second half of 2015. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home increased 1.7 percent, and prices for food at home rose 0.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 1.4 percent. Prices for food away from home advanced 3.4 percent, while prices for food at home were unchanged from a year ago.

Energy

The energy index increased 2.7 percent since the first half of 2015. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for electricity (9.1 percent). Prices for natural gas service fell 6.1 percent, and prices for gasoline decreased 2.3 percent in for the same period.

Energy prices dropped 12.1 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-24.3 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service decreased 5.8 percent, but prices for electricity increased 2.1 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.0 percent in the latest six-month period. Higher prices for shelter (2.1 percent) and other goods and services (2.1 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-1.6 percent), education and communication (-0.9 percent), and medical care (-0.7 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.6 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (3.7 percent) and recreation (2.1 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price declines in household furnishings and operations (-2.4 percent) and education and communication (-1.3 percent).

Table A. Phoenix CPI-U semi-annual and annual percent changes (not seasonally adjusted)
Month201020112012201320142015
Semi-annualAnnualSemi-annualAnnualSemi-annualAnnualSemi-annualAnnualSemi-annualAnnualSemi-annualAnnual

First Half

0.30.72.12.21.62.81.11.21.21.5-0.7-0.2

Second Half

0.10.41.23.30.11.70.21.30.51.81.10.5

The First Half of 2016 Consumer Price Index for the Phoenix-Mesa is scheduled to be released on July 15, 2016.


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/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 Phoenix-Mesa metropolitan area covered in this release consists of Maricopa and Pinal Counties in the State of Arizona.

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

Phoenix-Mesa, AZ (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

 
Semiannual average indexes
 
Percent change to
2nd half 2015 from-
2nd half
2014
1st half
2015
2nd half
2015
2nd half
2014
1st half
2015

Expenditure category

 
 

All items

128.157127.288128.7490.51.1

All items (1967=100)

-----

Food and beverages

139.260139.859141.0611.30.9

Food

140.422141.126142.3931.40.9

Food at home

145.856145.418145.9050.00.3

Food away from home

133.835136.046138.3583.41.7

Alcoholic beverages

126.996126.530127.0550.00.4

Housing

124.081124.442127.4422.72.4

Shelter

122.357124.314126.9053.72.1

Rent of primary residence

125.782127.630130.1743.52.0

Owners' equiv. rent of residences (1)

121.741123.623126.5143.92.3

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence (1)

121.741123.623126.5143.92.3

Fuels and utilities

166.408161.474169.9312.15.2

Household energy

177.745167.607179.4851.07.1

Energy services

177.462167.474179.4741.17.2

Electricity

188.252176.163192.1182.19.1

Utility (piped) gas service

122.254122.663115.200-5.8-6.1

Household furnishings and operations

102.75198.753100.249-2.41.5

Apparel

135.143135.734133.609-1.1-1.6

Transportation

122.453114.928114.444-6.5-0.4

Private transportation

123.881116.477115.882-6.5-0.5

Motor fuel

259.792201.311196.534-24.3-2.4

Gasoline (all types)

259.552201.142196.558-24.3-2.3

Gasoline, unleaded regular (2)

263.679202.685197.441-25.1-2.6

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (2) (3)

258.852208.327204.664-20.9-1.8

Gasoline, unleaded premium (2)

248.955197.593195.985-21.3-0.8

Medical care

162.016164.620163.4050.9-0.7

Recreation (4)

110.699111.487113.0092.11.4

Education and communication (4)

122.316121.799120.695-1.3-0.9

Other goods and services

138.983138.248141.1411.62.1
 

Commodity and service group

 
 

All Items

128.157127.288128.7490.51.1

Commodities

122.303118.704118.771-2.90.1

Commodities less food & beverages

113.486107.866107.380-5.4-0.5

Nondurables less food & beverages

148.461137.502136.695-7.9-0.6

Durables

83.57282.36482.144-1.7-0.3

Services

132.311133.176135.5292.41.8
 

Special aggregate indexes

 
 

All items less medical care

126.176125.110126.7230.41.3

All items less shelter

131.133128.758129.592-1.20.6

Commodities less food

113.991108.585108.140-5.1-0.4

Nondurables

143.845138.869139.106-3.30.2

Nondurables less food

146.650136.595135.903-7.3-0.5

Services less rent of shelter (1)

144.728144.212146.3701.11.5

Services less medical care services

129.008129.721132.3542.62.0

Energy

212.882182.330187.222-12.12.7

All items less energy

123.386124.077125.3401.61.0

All items less food and energy

120.693121.380122.6391.61.0

Footnotes
(1) Index is on a December 1982=100 base.
(2) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(3) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
(4) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
 

- Data not available.
 

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, January 20, 2016