Prices in the Seattle Area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), were unchanged for the two months ending in October 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted the two expenditure categories with the largest opposing effects were higher gasoline prices and lower recreation prices. (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 increased 2.4 percent.  (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices rose 5.3 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.6 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.4 percent for the two months ending in October. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home rose 0.6 percent, and prices for food at home increased 0.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 0.5 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 3.6 percent since a year ago, but prices for food at home decreased 1.9 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 1.9 percent for the two months ending in October. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (6.2 percent). Prices for electricity decreased 3.3 percent, and prices for natural gas service declined 0.4 percent for the same period.

Energy prices rose 5.3 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (12.2 percent). Prices paid for electricity rose 1.6 percent, but prices for natural gas service fell 12.9 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy declined 0.2 percent in the latest two-month period. Lower prices for recreation (-3.3 percent) and education and communication (-1.7 percent) were partially offset by higher prices for apparel (3.9 percent), household furnishings and operations (1.5 percent), and shelter (0.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 2.6 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (5.7 percent) and medical care (4.9 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price declines in education and communication (-3.6 percent) and recreation (-1.7 percent).

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

Month	2011		2012		2013		2014		2015		2016
	Bi-monthly	Annual	Bi-monthly	Annual	Bi-monthly	Annual	Bi-monthly	Annual	Bi-monthly	Annual	Bi-monthly	Annual
February	1.2	1.5	0.4	2.7	0.8	1.8	0.7	1.2	0.2	1.1	0.2	2.2
April	0.8	2.1	0.9	2.9	0.4	1.2	1.6	2.4	0.9	0.4	1.1	2.5
June	0.8	3.2	0.7	2.7	0.8	1.4	0.4	2.0	1.6	1.6	0.9	1.8
August	0.2	2.7	0.3	2.7	0.0	1.1	-0.2	1.8	0.0	1.8	0.3	2.1
October	0.9	3.8	0.5	2.3	0.0	0.6	0.3	2.1	-0.3	1.2	0.0	2.4
December	-0.5	3.5	-1.4	1.4	-0.7	1.3	-1.1	1.7	-0.2	2.2

The December 2016 Consumer Price Index for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton is scheduled to be released on January 18, 2017.

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: (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. 2016	Sep. 2016	Oct. 2016	Oct. 2015	Aug. 2016	Sep. 2016
Expenditure category
All items	256.907	-	256.941	2.4	0.0	-
All items (1967=100)	783.154	-	783.256	-	-	-
Food and beverages	260.776	-	261.870	0.6	0.4	-
Food	263.399	-	264.550	0.5	0.4	-
Food at home	246.427	246.604	247.130	-1.9	0.3	0.2
Food away from home	289.688	-	291.499	3.6	0.6	-
Alcoholic beverages	229.253	-	229.744	2.5	0.2	-
Housing	289.383	-	289.698	4.5	0.1	-
Shelter	327.922	326.994	328.533	5.7	0.2	0.5
Rent of primary residence (1)	332.204	333.947	336.559	6.8	1.3	0.8
Owners' equiv. rent of residences (1) (2)	341.520	342.992	344.750	5.8	0.9	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence (1) (2)	341.520	342.992	344.750	5.8	0.9	0.5
Fuels and utilities	259.653	-	254.713	0.2	-1.9	-
Household energy	237.070	237.062	231.232	-1.5	-2.5	-2.5
Energy services (1)	285.402	285.189	277.453	-0.8	-2.8	-2.7
Electricity (1)	309.169	309.169	298.902	1.6	-3.3	-3.3
Utility (piped) gas service (1)	167.494	166.813	166.820	-12.9	-0.4	0.0
Household furnishings and operations	170.693	-	173.270	-0.5	1.5	-
Apparel	128.977	-	134.032	0.2	3.9	-
Transportation	211.554	-	212.612	2.1	0.5	-
Private transportation	218.511	-	219.666	2.6	0.5	-
Motor fuel	281.133	293.088	298.171	12.0	6.1	1.7
Gasoline (all types)	286.932	299.291	304.686	12.2	6.2	1.8
Gasoline, unleaded regular (3)	310.771	324.275	330.440	12.2	6.3	1.9
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (3) (4)	226.671	237.037	238.937	12.1	5.4	0.8
Gasoline, unleaded premium (3)	266.777	277.552	281.540	12.8	5.5	1.4
Medical care	400.940	-	400.648	4.9	-0.1	-
Recreation (5)	98.644	-	95.383	-1.7	-3.3	-
Education and communication (5)	137.944	-	135.535	-3.6	-1.7	-
Other goods and services	399.531	-	403.219	2.6	0.9	-
Commodity and service group
All items	256.907	-	256.941	2.4	0.0	-
Commodities	187.406	-	189.151	0.5	0.9	-
Commodities less food & beverages	151.342	-	153.316	0.4	1.3	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	179.410	-	184.640	3.6	2.9	-
Durables	122.790	-	121.863	-3.6	-0.8	-
Services	321.653	-	320.066	3.5	-0.5	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	250.387	-	250.436	2.3	0.0	-
All items less shelter	229.871	-	229.684	0.7	-0.1	-
Commodities less food	154.609	-	156.533	0.5	1.2	-
Nondurables	218.382	-	221.669	1.9	1.5	-
Nondurables less food	183.588	-	188.477	3.5	2.7	-
Services less rent of shelter (2)	322.002	-	317.792	0.9	-1.3	-
Services less medical care services	313.084	-	311.394	3.5	-0.5	-
Energy	265.486	271.223	270.456	5.3	1.9	-0.3
All items less energy	259.208	-	258.941	2.3	-0.1	-
All items less food and energy	258.742	-	258.235	2.6	-0.2	-
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.