Prices in the Anchorage area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 7.1 percent for the two months ending in June 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the June increase was influenced by higher prices for food. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U jumped 12.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices jumped 35.9 percent. Energy prices jumped 32.1 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 6.3 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices jumped 23.7 percent for the two months ending in June. (See table 1.) Food at home advanced 0.5 percent, primarily due to higher prices for dairy and related products. Prices for food away from home jumped 72.5 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices jumped 35.9 percent. Prices for food at home rose 10.5 percent since a year ago, led by higher prices for the other food at home category (17.1 percent). Prices for food away from home jumped 88.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 10.6 percent for the two months ending in June. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (18.0 percent). Prices for electricity and natural gas service were unchanged during the past month.

Energy prices jumped 32.1 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (63.8 percent). Prices for electricity declined 4.6 percent and prices for natural gas service declined 1.7 percent for the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.5 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for recreation (5.5 percent) and shelter (3.4 percent) contributed to the increase.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 6.3 percent. Components contributing to the increase included other goods and services (8.9 percent) and shelter (8.0 percent).

The August 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Anchorage area is scheduled to be released on September 13, 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	Apr. 2022	May 2022	Jun. 2022	Jun. 2021	Apr. 2022	May 2022
Expenditure category
All items		251.041	-	268.916	12.4	7.1	-
All items (1967=100)		670.062	-	717.774	-	-	-
Food and beverages		255.383	-	313.416	34.0	22.7	-
Food		265.658	-	328.719	35.9	23.7	-
Food at home		264.849	261.347	266.107	10.5	0.5	1.8
Cereals and bakery products		269.975	-	276.048	9.8	2.2	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		272.445	-	263.467	4.3	-3.3	-
Dairy and related products		236.643	-	252.873	10.9	6.9	-
Fruits and vegetables		390.437	-	389.617	8.6	-0.2	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		176.011	-	176.439	11.8	0.2	-
Other food at home		221.268	-	223.976	17.1	1.2	-
Food away from home		262.823	-	453.489	88.6	72.5	-
Alcoholic beverages		157.908	-	161.471	2.7	2.3	-
Housing		217.718	-	224.166	6.6	3.0	-
Shelter		218.234	223.307	225.754	8.0	3.4	1.1
Rent of primary residence(2)		211.924	213.597	214.582	6.1	1.3	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		220.107	222.421	225.228	8.1	2.3	1.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		220.107	222.421	225.228	8.1	2.3	1.3
Fuels and utilities		344.193	-	345.442	-0.5	0.4	-
Household energy		346.603	345.948	345.921	-2.7	-0.2	0.0
Energy services		382.553	382.553	382.553	-3.1	0.0	0.0
Electricity		319.218	319.218	319.218	-4.6	0.0	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service		466.846	466.846	466.846	-1.7	0.0	0.0
Household furnishings and operations		144.208	-	147.547	5.8	2.3	-
Apparel		150.832	-	153.639	3.6	1.9	-
Transportation		284.740	-	313.123	19.7	10.0	-
Private transportation		294.510	-	315.269	16.1	7.0	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		133.470	-	135.564	-	1.6	-
New vehicles(1)		264.489	-	271.837	-	2.8	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		393.293	-	400.273	6.6	1.8	-
Motor fuel		387.634	411.626	456.032	64.7	17.6	10.8
Gasoline (all types)		387.484	412.213	457.045	63.8	18.0	10.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		374.488	399.096	442.900	64.6	18.3	11.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		369.350	391.125	434.258	62.0	17.6	11.0
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		390.370	412.230	455.243	60.7	16.6	10.4
Medical care		-	-	687.385	-	-	-
Recreation(3)		130.878	-	138.137	3.7	5.5	-
Education and communication(3)		115.287	-	115.622	0.6	0.3	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		764.701	-	770.355	1.6	0.7	-
Other goods and services		407.415	-	409.823	8.9	0.6	-
Commodity and service group
All items		251.041	-	268.916	12.4	7.1	-
Commodities		216.273	-	241.239	21.2	11.5	-
Commodities less food & beverages		196.054	-	205.366	13.5	4.7	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		255.565	-	273.857	23.8	7.2	-
Durables		147.848	-	151.497	4.7	2.5	-
Services		279.959	-	291.061	6.4	4.0	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		236.025	-	254.101	13.1	7.7	-
All items less shelter		265.660	-	288.833	14.3	8.7	-
Commodities less food		194.674	-	203.786	13.1	4.7	-
Nondurables		255.752	-	296.166	29.6	15.8	-
Nondurables less food		247.641	-	264.691	22.3	6.9	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)		381.337	-	398.350	4.7	4.5	-
Services less medical care services		255.875	-	267.040	6.6	4.4	-
Energy		371.226	384.810	410.455	32.1	10.6	6.7
All items less energy		244.377	-	261.031	10.9	6.8	-
All items less food and energy		241.002	-	249.472	6.3	3.5	-
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.