The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Miami edged down 0.2 percent over the two months, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that energy prices decreased 1.9 percent while food prices inched up 0.1 percent. The index for all items less food and energy was unchanged during the March-April pricing period. Within the all items less food and energy group, price increases for shelter and recreation were partially offset by price decreases for medical care and apparel. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 0.9 percent with annual increases registered in several categories, notably shelter, education and communication, and medical care. The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.8 percent over the year. (See chart 1.)

Food

Food prices inched up 0.1 percent over the two-month pricing period, as a 0.9 percent increase in prices for food away from home was partially offset by a 0.3-percent decline in prices for food at home. Higher prices were noted for beef and veal, while price decreases were noted for fresh fish and seafood.

From April 2012 to April 2013, the food index rose 0.3 percent. Prices for food at home increased 3.3 percent, while prices for food away from home declined 1.2 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 1.9 percent during the March-April pricing period, reflecting a 3.7-percent decline in motor fuel prices. Within the energy group, prices rose for both electricity (1.1 percent) and utility (piped) gas service (0.3 percent).

Over the year, the energy index declined 4.9 percent as motor fuel prices decreased 8.3 percent. Prices increased for both electricity (0.7 percent) and utility (piped) gas service (9.7 percent) over the year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy was unchanged over the two months as price increases for shelter (0.2 percent) and recreation (0.6 percent) were largely offset by decreases in several indexes including medical care and apparel, down 1.6 percent each. Lower prices were noted for women's dresses and girls' apparel.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.8 percent, reflecting higher prices for shelter (2.4 percent), education and communication (2.5 percent), and medical care (2.1 percent).

The June 2013 Consumer Price Index for Miami-Fort Lauderdale is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, July 16, 2013 at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index for Miami-Fort Lauderdale is published bi-monthly. 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 88 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 29 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 the 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/homch17_a.htm.

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.

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