Pittsburgh Consumer Price Index:  Local Prices up 3.4 Percent over the Year (PDF)

Retail prices in the Pittsburgh area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), rose 3.4 percent from the second half of 2006 to the second half of 2007, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor reported today.  Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that the recent advance was dominated by increases in the housing, transportation, and food and beverages indexes, although seven of the eight major categories of the Pittsburgh CPI-U had over-the-year increases in the second half of 2007.  Only the recreation index recorded a decline from the second half of 2006 to the second half of 2007.  (See chart A and table 1.)

Chart A.  12-month percent changes ended in the second half of 2007 for the major categories of the CPI-U for the Pittsburgh area, not seasonally adjusted

The housing index rose 2.7 percent since the second half of 2006, led by a 9.6-percent advance in fuels and utilities prices.  Electricity prices jumped 16.0 percent and utility (piped) gas service prices rose 5.4 percent over the year.  The shelter index increased 1.8 percent over the last 12 months, due largely to higher prices for both owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence (1.5 percent) and rent of primary residence (3.1 percent).  Prices for household furnishings and operations, the third component of the housing index, rose 0.8 percent over the year.

The transportation index increased 5.4 percent from its year-ago level, due entirely to higher prices for private transportation, in particular higher gasoline prices.  Gasoline prices jumped 16.2 percent over the year.  The gasoline index is historically subject to rapid fluctuations; since 2000, it posted over-the-year increases of 38.6 percent in the first half of 2000 and 28.8 percent in the second half of 2005, as well as declines of 16.3 percent in the second half of 2001 and 16.2 percent in the first half of 2002.

The food and beverages index rose 5.4 percent since the second half of 2006—the largest 12-month advance since the first half of 1990.  Higher prices for food at home (5.6 percent) and food away from home (5.9 percent) were almost entirely responsible for the overall increase in the food and beverages index.  Prices for alcoholic beverages edged up 0.4 percent over the year.

Medical care prices advanced 4.0 percent from the second half of 2006 to the second half of 2007.  Education and communication prices increased 3.7 percent over the year—the largest 12-month increase in this index since the second half of 2002.

The other goods and services index, which includes tobacco and smoking products, personal care products and services, and personal services such as legal, funeral, and laundry and dry cleaning services, rose 3.9 percent over the last 12 months.  The apparel index increased 2.2 percent from its year-ago level.

The recreation index was the only major category of the CPI-U to decrease from the second half of 2006 to the second half of 2007, falling 2.6 percent.

The energy index, which reflects pricing for gasoline and household fuels, jumped 13.4 percent since the second half of 2006, due mainly to higher prices for gasoline.  Higher prices for electricity and utility (piped) gas service also contributed to the recent 12-month advance in the energy index.

The CPI-U for the Pittsburgh area stood at 203.295 on the 1982-84=100 reference base, which means that a market basket of goods and services which averaged $100.00 in the 1982-84 period would have cost $203.30 in the second half of 2007.

The Pittsburgh, Pa., Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties.

Last Modified Date: February 20, 2008