Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

News Release Information

14-1587-PHI
Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Consumer Price Index, Pittsburgh - First Half 2014

Local Prices up 1.1 Percent Over the Year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Pittsburgh area rose 1.1 percent from the first half of 2013 to the first half of 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that the recent 12-month advance in the all items index was due almost entirely to an increase in the index for all items less food and energy (1.4 percent). The food index also rose over the year, up 0.8 percent, while the energy index declined, down 0.2 percent. The 12-month advance in the all items less food and energy index was led by higher prices for shelter. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index rose 0.8 percent since the first half of 2013. The advance was due to higher prices for food away from home, up 3.8 percent. Prices for food at home declined over the year, down 0.9 percent.

Energy

The energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, edged down 0.2 percent since the first half of 2013. The decline in energy prices was due to an over-the-year decrease in prices for electricity, down 9.5 percent. Partially offsetting the decline in the energy index were higher prices for utility (piped) gas service and gasoline, up 6.9 and 1.4 percent, respectively.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.4 percent over the year. Within this grouping, price increases were led by shelter (2.7 percent), particularly as the owners’ equivalent rent of residences component rose 3.7 percent. Since the first half of 2013, prices were also higher for medical care (1.4 percent), among others. Moderating the 12-month increase in the all items less food and energy index were lower prices for recreation, down 2.8 percent, and household furnishings and operations, down 2.6 percent.


Technical Note

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 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 $10.00 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/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 Pittsburgh, Pa., Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service:  1-800-877-8339.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes for semiannual averages and percent changes for selected periods, Pittsburgh, PA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Expenditure categoryIndexesPercent change from
 
Historical
data
1st Half
2013
2nd Half
2013
1st Half
2014
1st Half
2013
2nd Half
2013

All items

Jump to page with historical data
236.009235.719238.6631.11.2
 

Food and beverages

Jump to page with historical data
245.537244.527247.9311.01.4

Food

Jump to page with historical data
245.544244.114247.4500.81.4

Food at home

Jump to page with historical data
245.889241.792243.562-0.90.7

Food away from home

Jump to page with historical data
246.129250.608255.4083.81.9

Alcoholic beverages

Jump to page with historical data
245.565250.236254.4783.61.7
 

Housing

Jump to page with historical data
230.757230.195234.8921.82.0

Shelter

Jump to page with historical data
256.126257.816262.9802.72.0

Rent of primary residence (1)

Jump to page with historical data
223.714225.437229.5482.61.8

Owners' equivalent rent of residences (1)

Jump to page with historical data
251.995253.679261.2583.73.0

Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence (1) (2) (3)

Jump to page with historical data
251.995253.679261.2583.73.0

Fuels and utilities

Jump to page with historical data
245.773235.785245.9660.14.3

Household energy

Jump to page with historical data
228.706214.455224.112-2.04.5

Gas (piped) and electricity (1)

Jump to page with historical data
215.899200.664208.401-3.53.9

Electricity (1)

Jump to page with historical data
180.323158.395163.206-9.53.0

Utility (piped) gas service (1)

Jump to page with historical data
222.377226.147237.7116.95.1

Household furnishings and operations

Jump to page with historical data
150.883148.588146.939-2.6-1.1
 

Apparel

Jump to page with historical data
154.324155.864152.905-0.9-1.9
 

Transportation

Jump to page with historical data
194.236192.410198.6082.33.2

Private transportation

Jump to page with historical data
192.622190.558196.4862.03.1

Motor fuel

Jump to page with historical data
321.908310.218326.6151.55.3

Gasoline (all types)

Jump to page with historical data
325.338313.485329.8481.45.2

Gasoline, unleaded regular (4)

Jump to page with historical data
323.095310.959327.3461.35.3

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (4) (5)

Jump to page with historical data
345.930334.887351.9481.75.1

Gasoline, unleaded premium (4)

Jump to page with historical data
310.041299.442314.5381.55.0
 

Medical care

Jump to page with historical data
456.228462.856462.4321.4-0.1
 

Recreation (6)

Jump to page with historical data
122.800123.874119.347-2.8-3.7
 

Education and communication (6)

Jump to page with historical data
145.332145.200145.7700.30.4
 

Other goods and services

Jump to page with historical data
401.714403.789403.4830.4-0.1
 

Commodity and service group

 

Commodities

Jump to page with historical data
207.164205.819207.8270.31.0

Commodities less food and beverages

Jump to page with historical data
185.181183.697184.977-0.10.7

Nondurables less food and beverages

Jump to page with historical data
241.027239.608242.5650.61.2

Durables

Jump to page with historical data
126.216124.803124.423-1.4-0.3

Services

Jump to page with historical data
268.368269.053273.0701.81.5
 

Special aggregate indexes

 

All items less medical care

Jump to page with historical data
225.282224.758227.8331.11.4

All items less shelter

Jump to page with historical data
231.297230.319232.3620.50.9

Commodities less food

Jump to page with historical data
187.548186.258187.6310.00.7

Nondurables

Jump to page with historical data
243.758242.548245.8410.91.4

Nondurables less food

Jump to page with historical data
241.303240.292243.3170.81.3

Services less rent of shelter (3)

Jump to page with historical data
287.855287.621290.1990.80.9

Services less medical care services

Jump to page with historical data
254.592255.255259.5351.91.7

Energy

Jump to page with historical data
277.657264.137277.082-0.24.9

All items less energy

Jump to page with historical data
234.146234.900237.1221.30.9

All items less food and energy

Jump to page with historical data
233.029234.200236.2451.40.9

Footnotes
(1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series converted to a geometric means estimator in January, 1999.
(2) This index series will undergo a change in composition in January 2010. The expenditure class will include weight from secondary residences and will be re-titled "Owners' equivalent rent of residences." The item stratum "Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence" excludes secondary residences.
(3) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base.
(4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
(6) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
 

Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.
 

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, August 19, 2014