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

18-11-SAN
Friday, January 12, 2018

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

Consumer Price Index, Anchorage – Second Half 2017

Area prices were up 0.2 percent over the past six months, up 0.2 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Anchorage Area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.2 percent in the second half of 2017, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted this latest six-month increase was influenced by higher prices for gasoline, medical care, and apparel. (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 rose 0.2 percent.  (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices advanced 5.4 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy edged down 0.1 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices decreased 0.6 percent in the second half of 2017. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home decreased 1.4 percent, but prices for food away from home increased 0.6 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices inched down 0.1 percent. Prices for food at home decreased 0.8 percent since a year ago, but prices for food away from home moved up 0.7 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 5.4 percent since the first half of 2017. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (7.2 percent). Prices for natural gas service increased 9.1 percent, and prices for electricity increased 0.2 percent for the same period.

Energy prices advanced 12.1 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (16.8 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service moved up 11.2 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 6.8 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged down 0.1 percent in the latest six-month period. Lower prices for education and communication (-2.2 percent) and shelter (-0.6 percent) were partially offset by higher prices for apparel (3.3 percent) and medical care (1.9 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy declined 0.7 percent. Components contributing to the decrease included education and communication (-4.8 percent) and shelter (-1.3 percent). Partly offsetting the decreases were price advances in medical care (1.7 percent) and apparel (1.6 percent).

Table A. Anchorage CPI-U semi-annual and annual percent changes (not seasonally adjusted)
Month201220132014201520162017
Semi-annualAnnualSemi-annualAnnualSemi-annualAnnualSemi-annualAnnualSemi-annualAnnualSemi-annualAnnual

First Half

1.32.52.12.70.41.90.11.10.1-0.10.00.7

Second Half

0.72.01.43.5 1.01.4 -0.2-0.10.80.90.20.2

The February 2018 Consumer Price Index for the Anchorage area is scheduled to be released March 13, 2018.

Consumer Price Index Geographic Revision for 2018

In January 2018, BLS will introduce a new geographic area sample for the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This index will change to a bimonthly publication schedule beginning in February, 2018. The first indexes using the new structure will be published in February 2018. Additional information on the geographic revision is available at: www.bls.gov/cpi/additional-resources/geographic-revision-2018.htm.


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 Anchorage, AK. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of Anchorage Borough in the State of Alaska.

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 for semiannual averages and percent changes for selected periods

Anchorage, AK (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

 
Semiannual average indexes
 
Percent change to
2nd half 2017 from-
2nd half
2016
1st half
2017
2nd half
2017
2nd half
2016
1st half
2017

Expenditure category

 
 

All items

218.660218.616219.1310.20.2

All items (1967=100)

583.635583.517584.891--

Food and beverages

208.183209.188207.988-0.1-0.6

Food

213.553214.481213.258-0.1-0.6

Food at home

209.617210.977208.003-0.8-1.4

Food away from home

218.136218.448219.7080.70.6

Alcoholic beverages

153.657155.367154.4110.5-0.6

Housing

203.505203.427203.228-0.1-0.1

Shelter

206.548205.134203.949-1.3-0.6

Rent of primary residence

201.915200.300200.753-0.60.2

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)

208.873206.284204.637-2.0-0.8

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)

208.873206.284204.637-2.0-0.8

Fuels and utilities

303.873315.618326.7487.53.5

Household energy

316.332330.329343.6978.74.0

Energy services

352.161368.028383.0798.84.1

Electricity

300.074319.964320.5676.80.2

Utility (piped) gas service

425.662433.649473.31211.29.1

Household furnishings and operations

128.502129.758129.2830.6-0.4

Apparel

163.859161.230166.5541.63.3

Transportation

208.146210.427213.3902.51.4

Private transportation

212.469223.073224.5015.70.6

Motor fuel

201.509219.453235.30516.87.2

Gasoline (all types)

202.191220.277236.19816.87.2

Gasoline, unleaded regular(2)

195.790213.509229.06117.07.3

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(2)(3)

192.336209.310224.10616.57.1

Gasoline, unleaded premium(2)

200.829217.860232.95516.06.9

Medical care

534.701533.511543.8271.71.9

Recreation(4)

119.503120.039119.8600.3-0.1

Education and communication(4)

118.767115.579113.073-4.8-2.2

Other goods and services

336.779333.862336.426-0.10.8
 

Commodity and service group

 
 

All Items

218.660218.616219.1310.20.2

Commodities

176.195178.962179.7902.00.5

Commodities less food & beverages

159.196162.815164.6393.41.1

Nondurables less food & beverages

200.521204.450212.9786.24.2

Durables

124.251127.512124.6190.3-2.3

Services

255.076252.716252.975-0.80.1
 

Special aggregate indexes

 
 

All items less medical care

207.224207.215207.4290.10.1

All items less shelter

222.403223.144224.6241.00.7

Commodities less food

159.330162.872164.5763.31.0

Nondurables

205.259207.612210.8872.71.6

Nondurables less food

197.403201.139208.7735.83.8

Services less rent of shelter(1)

333.188329.238332.218-0.30.9

Services less medical care services

237.225235.151235.384-0.80.1

Energy

252.275268.219282.76612.15.4

All items less energy

217.100216.086215.751-0.6-0.2

All items less food and energy

218.031216.688216.502-0.7-0.1

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: Friday, January 12, 2018