Midwest Information Office

For release: 8:30 A.M. ET, Wednesday, December 16, 2009
BLSInfoChicago@bls.gov
General Information: (312) 353-1880
Media Contact: Paul LaPorte (312) 353-1138

---

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX, CLEVELAND-AKRON, OHIO CMSA, NOVEMBER 2009

 

The Cleveland-Akron, Ohio Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) fell 0.2 percent from September to November, according to a report issued today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.  The November all items CPI-U for the Cleveland-Akron area stood at 201.471 (1982-84=100). Over the past year, retail prices in the Cleveland-Akron area were up 1.7 percent.  In the previous 12-month period ended in November 2008, retail prices in the Cleveland-Akron area increased 0.2 percent.

Regional Commissioner Jay A. Mousa stated that a 6.1 percent decrease in apparel prices was the largest contributing factor in the recent bimonthly drop in the Cleveland area all items CPI-U. Declines in the components for housing, recreation, food and beverages, and medical care were also recorded over the two-month period. Increases in the components for transportation and other goods and services partially offset these declines. The transportation component rose chiefly on higher gasoline prices. Education and communication costs were unchanged over the two-month period.

Apparel prices declined 6.1 percent during this bimonthly period. With the exception of 2006’s September to November increase of 9.0 percent, this component typically declines during this 2-month period.  Declines ranged from 1.5 percent to 3.4 percent for this period in years 2001 to 2008.  Over the past year, apparel prices were 0.2 percent lower.  During the previous November-November period, apparel prices rose an average of 8.3 percent per year.

The housing component fell 0.4 percent from September to November. Most of this decrease was the result of a 0.6 percent decline in the shelter index. Declines in the index for household furnishings and operations (-0.4 percent) and the electricity index (-0.9 percent) also contributed.  The utility (piped) gas service index moved in the opposite direction (+3.8 percent), but was not enough to offset the declines. Over the year, housing costs decreased 0.9 percent in the Cleveland area. Most of this annual decrease was the result of a 35.5 percent drop in the utility (pipe) gas service index. Household furnishings and operations costs were also down over the year, dropping 1.8 percent.  Electricity costs rose 9.1 percent since last November and shelter costs were up 1.6 percent over the past 12 months, partially offsetting these decreases.

Recreation prices declined 2.2 percent during the bimonthly period lead by lower prices for sporting goods.  Recreation prices were 1.9 percent higher over the year after rising an average of 4.1 percent during the previous two years.

The food and beverages component declined 0.5 percent during this bimonthly period. The food at home index (grocery food) fell 1.0 percent while the index for food away from home gained 0.5 percent.  Overall food and beverage prices were 0.9 percent lower for the year. Grocery food costs declined 2.7 percent over the year following annual increases that averaged 4.8 percent over the previous four years. Food away from home costs rose 1.4 percent during the past 12 months, lower than the 3.6 percent average annual increase in the prior four 12-month periods ended in November. The alcoholic beverages index fell 1.5 percent from September, but stood 0.5 percent higher for the year.

The medical care component fell 0.4 percent for the bimonthly period. For the year, medical care costs were 1.4 percent higher. This latest annual gain was below the 3.3 percent increase for the 12-month period ended in November 2008.

The education and communications component was unchanged during this bimonthly period and was 2.9 percent higher for the year. 

The other goods and services component, which includes cigarettes and personal care products, posted a 1.4 percent gain for the two-months.  On an annual basis, this component advanced 9.7 percent, a larger increase than the 1.7 percent November-November gain posted in 2008.

The transportation component increased 2.5 percent due to a 4.6 percent rise in gasoline prices.  In the previous September-November period, gasoline prices fell 48.9 percent.  Over the past 12 months, transportation costs rose 9.6 percent as a result of a 36.6 percent annual increase in prices at the gasoline pumps.

 

      

---

 ###

Scheduled release date for the December 2009 CPI: Friday, January 15, 2010

Cleveland-Akron, Ohio Combined Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) includes Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, and Summit Counties in Ohio.

 

BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE CPI

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 87 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 32 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. Prices are collected in 87 urban areas across the country from about 50,000 housing units and approximately 23,000 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. Prices of food, fuels, and a few other items are obtained every month in all 87 locations. Prices of most other commodities and services are collected every month in the three largest geographic areas and every other month in other areas. Prices of most goods and services are obtained by personal visits of the Bureau's trained representatives.

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. Separate indexes are also published by size of city, by region of the country, for cross-classifications of regions and population-size classes, and for 27 local areas. Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices among cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.

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.

---

 

Last Modified Date: December 16, 2009