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Retail prices in the Milwaukee-Racine area were up 1.5 percent in the second half of 2007 compared with their levels in the first half of 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. The second half 2007 Milwaukee-Racine all items Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) was 195.571 (1982-84=100). By comparison, retail prices gained 0.7 percent in the second half of 2006 and 2.2 percent in the second half of 2005. On an annual average basis, Milwaukee area consumers paid 2.2 percent more for goods and services in 2007 than in 2006. Regional Commissioner Jay A. Mousa stated that most of this increase was attributed to higher prices for shelter, food, and gasoline. Gains with lesser impact were noted in apparel, medical care, recreation, education and communications, and other goods and services. None of the eight major consumer expenditure categories experienced a decline. The housing component rose 1.5 percent following a larger gain of 2.0 percent in 2006. The shelter index also increased 1.5 percent with owners’ equivalent rent rising 1.2 percent. The household energy index was up 1.9 percent. Electricity costs advanced 1.6 percent and utility (piped) gas service costs rose 1.7 percent. The household furnishings and operations index was 1.5 percent higher. The transportation component gained 3.5 percent following a similar 3.7 percent gain in 2006. Gasoline prices were 7.2 percent higher on average in 2007 than in 2006 and contributed to almost the entire latest annual rise in transportation costs. In the four previous annual periods (2003-2006), gasoline prices in the Milwaukee area registered gains ranging from 14.0 percent to 22.3 percent. The food and beverages component posted an annual average gain of 3.5 percent, identical to the increase in 2006. Grocery food costs (food at home index) rose 4.4 percent in 2007, more than the 3.7 percent advance in 2006 and the 3.2 percent increase in 2005. The food away from home index (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending machine purchases) increased 3.0 percent in 2007, ahead of the 2.4 percent rise in 2006. Alcoholic beverage prices were up 3.3 percent after rising 1.6 percent in 2006. The cost of medical care increased 3.0 percent, following a smaller gain of 2.5 percent in 2006. Apparel prices were up 2.9 percent in 2007 after declining 0.4 percent a year earlier. The other goods and services component, which includes tobacco and smoking products, and personal care items, rose 2.5 percent, ahead of the 2.1 percent gain in 2006. The components for recreation and for education and communication each gained 0.7 percent in 2007. In 2006, the recreation component gained 1.6 percent and the component for education and communication rose 3.3 percent.
# # # Scheduled release date for the 1st Half of 2008 CPI: Thursday, August 14, 2008 CPI HOTLINE SERVICE PROVIDES LATEST INDEXES 24 HOURS A DAY The all items CPI-U and CPI-W for the U. S. City Average and for the Milwaukee area are available to the public 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through the Bureau's CPI Hotline service. This recorded message also provides percent changes from the prior period and from a year earlier as well as the schedule release date for the next CPI issuance. The Hotline number in Milwaukee is (414) 276-2579. 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: February 20, 2008 |
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