Prices in the Anchorage area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 1.1 percent for the two months ending in February 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the February increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 7.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices increased 9.7 percent. Energy prices jumped 18.7 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy rose 5.9 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 1.6 percent for the two months ending in February. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home advanced 0.9 percent, led by an increase in the price of nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (3.8 percent). This increase was partially offset by a price decrease in meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (-2.9 percent). Prices for food away from home increased 3.1 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 9.7 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 9.2 percent since a year ago. Three of the six food sub-categories had increases of 10.5 percent or more. Prices for food away from home jumped 11.0 percent.

Energy

The energy index edged up 0.2 percent for the two months ending in February. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (2.6 percent). Prices for natural gas service were unchanged, while prices for electricity declined 6.0 percent for the same period.

Energy prices jumped 18.7 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (44.0 percent). Prices paid for electricity decreased 6.0 percent and prices for natural gas service decreased 1.7 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.1 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for apparel (3.4 percent) and shelter (2.0 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for recreation (-1.1 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 5.9 percent. Components contributing to the increase included used cars and trucks (40.7 percent) and shelter (5.6 percent).

The April 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Anchorage area is scheduled to be released on May 11, 2022.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measures 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 93 percent of the total U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. 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 75 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 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; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000.  Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods 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 Urban Alaska area covered in this release consists of Anchorage and Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the State of Alaska.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

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

Urban Alaska (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes				Percent change from-
	Historical data	Dec. 2021	Jan. 2022	Feb. 2022	Feb. 2021	Dec. 2021	Jan. 2022
Expenditure category
All items		243.568	-	246.369	7.4	1.1	-
All items (1967=100)		650.118	-	657.594	-	-	-
Food and beverages		244.575	-	248.244	9.1	1.5	-
Food		253.883	-	258.049	9.7	1.6	-
Food at home		251.538	254.110	253.848	9.2	0.9	-0.1
Cereals and bakery products		258.916	-	265.648	14.7	2.6	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		260.442	-	252.863	10.5	-2.9	-
Dairy and related products		225.006	-	230.128	4.3	2.3	-
Fruits and vegetables		372.061	-	381.328	5.4	2.5	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		162.602	-	168.725	7.3	3.8	-
Other food at home		209.672	-	211.885	10.5	1.1	-
Food away from home		254.446	-	262.405	11.0	3.1	-
Alcoholic beverages		157.610	-	155.676	0.4	-1.2	-
Housing		213.527	-	216.545	4.9	1.4	-
Shelter		212.328	214.368	216.575	5.6	2.0	1.0
Rent of primary residence(2)		207.073	208.869	209.879	4.5	1.4	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		213.513	215.236	217.289	5.4	1.8	1.0
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		213.513	215.236	217.289	5.4	1.8	1.0
Fuels and utilities		347.493	-	339.782	-2.4	-2.2	-
Household energy		354.688	344.320	344.360	-3.4	-2.9	0.0
Energy services		393.217	381.222	381.222	-3.8	-3.1	0.0
Electricity		337.170	316.986	316.986	-6.0	-6.0	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service		466.730	466.846	466.846	-1.7	0.0	0.0
Household furnishings and operations		144.421	-	146.048	8.6	1.1	-
Apparel		149.243	-	154.367	6.3	3.4	-
Transportation		264.542	-	266.886	20.8	0.9	-
Private transportation		274.918	-	279.046	19.0	1.5	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		131.841	-	133.837	14.9	1.5	-
New vehicles(1)		264.254	-	261.157	0.9	-1.2	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		392.086	-	401.623	40.7	2.4	-
Motor fuel		306.124	309.166	314.919	44.3	2.9	1.9
Gasoline (all types)		307.909	310.734	315.891	44.0	2.6	1.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		296.542	299.287	304.482	44.4	2.7	1.7
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		295.134	297.169	301.666	42.5	2.2	1.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		314.815	317.641	321.896	42.0	2.2	1.3
Medical care		-	-	676.947	1.8	-	-
Recreation(3)		133.166	-	131.674	2.9	-1.1	-
Education and communication(3)		116.063	-	116.227	1.0	0.1	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		764.593	-	764.432	1.2	0.0	-
Other goods and services		390.283	-	395.927	4.5	1.4	-
Commodity and service group
All items		243.568	-	246.369	7.4	1.1	-
Commodities		207.206	-	209.693	11.6	1.2	-
Commodities less food & beverages		187.882	-	189.795	13.2	1.0	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		231.730	-	236.421	14.9	2.0	-
Durables		148.912	-	149.150	11.7	0.2	-
Services		274.053	-	277.109	4.6	1.1	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		228.925	-	231.462	7.9	1.1	-
All items less shelter		257.440	-	259.443	8.2	0.8	-
Commodities less food		186.776	-	188.556	12.6	1.0	-
Nondurables		239.135	-	243.263	11.6	1.7	-
Nondurables less food		225.805	-	229.929	13.6	1.8	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)		375.668	-	376.288	3.4	0.2	-
Services less medical care services		250.729	-	253.314	4.9	1.0	-
Energy		327.567	324.920	328.261	18.7	0.2	1.0
All items less energy		239.005	-	241.933	6.5	1.2	-
All items less food and energy		236.755	-	239.469	5.9	1.1	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1978=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
- Data not available NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.