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20-1955-PHI
Tuesday, October 13, 2020
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Washington-Arlington-Alexandria advanced 0.6 percent from July to September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that the recent increase was due to advances in the all items less food and energy index, up 0.5 percent, and the food index, up 1.3 percent; the energy index decreased 1.4 percent over the month. (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 increased 1.2 percent, due largely to a 5.3-percent rise in the food index. (See chart 1 and table A.) Since September 2019, the all items less food and energy index also increased, up 0.9 percent, while the energy index decreased 6.1 percent. (See table 1.)
FoodFollowing a 0.3-percent decrease from May to July, the food index increased 1.3 percent over the last two months. Prices for food away from home increased 2.4 percent, and those for food at home rose 0.3 percent. Within the food at home component, prices were higher for breakfast cereal and apples, while prices were lower for bread, eggs, and potatoes, among others.
Food prices increased 5.3 percent over the year. Prices were higher for both food away from home (6.5 percent) and for food at home (4.3 percent) since September 2019.
EnergySince July, the energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, declined 1.4 percent, due mainly to lower prices for utility (piped) gas service (-11.4 percent). Prices were also lower for electricity (-1.7 percent), while those for gasoline were higher (2.3 percent) over the past two months.
Energy prices decreased 6.1 percent since September 2019, due mostly to a drop in gasoline prices, down 9.5 percent. Over the year, prices also declined for electricity, down 5.2 percent, while prices were higher for utility (piped) gas service, up 4.9 percent.
All items less food and energyThe index for all items less food and energy increased 0.5 percent since July. The advance was led by higher prices for apparel (7.0 percent) and shelter (0.5 percent) over the last two months. Lower prices for several categories, including motor vehicle insurance (-9.7 percent), moderated the increase in the all items less food and energy index from July to September.
Since September 2019, the index for all items less food and energy rose 0.9 percent. Prices were higher for medical care (7.6 percent) and shelter (1.7 percent), among others. Prices decreased for apparel (-7.7 percent) and recreation (-4.2 percent) since September 2019.
Month | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2-month | 12-month | 2-month | 12-month | 2-month | 12-month | 2-month | 12-month | 2-month | 12-month | |
January | -0.2 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 1.6 |
March | 0.8 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 1.1 | -0.1 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 1.6 | -0.4 | 0.4 |
May | 0.8 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
July | -0.2 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 2.5 | -0.3 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.8 |
September | -0.3 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 1.2 |
November | 0.2 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 1.5 | -0.7 | 1.3 | -0.2 | 1.5 |
The Consumer Price Index for November 2020 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, December 10, 2020, at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).
Data collection by personal visit for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) program has been suspended since March 16, 2020. When possible, data normally collected by personal visit were collected either online or by phone. Additionally, data collection in September was affected by the temporary closing or limited operations of certain types of establishments. These factors resulted in an increase in the number of prices considered temporarily unavailable and imputed.
While the CPI program attempted to collect as much data as possible, many indexes are based on smaller amounts of collected prices than usual, and a small number of indexes that are normally published were not published this month. Additional information is available at www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-consumer-price-index.htm
The Consumer Price Index for Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 94 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 28 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 75 urban areas across the country from about 5,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 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 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/pdf/homch17.pdf.
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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MA-WV, Core Based Statistical Area includes the District of Columbia; the counties of Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s in Maryland; the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park and the counties of Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren in Virginia; and the county of Jefferson in West Virginia.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.
Expenditure category | Indexes | Percent change from | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Historical data | Jul. 2020 | Aug. 2020 | Sep. 2020 | Sep. 2019 | Jul. 2020 | Aug. 2020 | |
All items | 267.287 | 268.788 | 1.2 | 0.6 | |||
Food and beverages | 260.635 | 264.518 | 4.8 | 1.5 | |||
Food | 268.037 | 271.655 | 5.3 | 1.3 | |||
Food at home | 255.629 | 254.210 | 256.472 | 4.3 | 0.3 | 0.9 | |
Cereals and bakery products | 335.828 | 330.632 | 2.5 | -1.5 | |||
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs | 286.655 | 276.737 | 3.2 | -3.5 | |||
Dairy and related products | 250.465 | 250.878 | 3.4 | 0.2 | |||
Fruits and vegetables | 264.208 | 267.089 | -1.9 | 1.1 | |||
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1) | 220.787 | 222.330 | 3.7 | 0.7 | |||
Other food at home | 209.735 | 219.001 | 12.0 | 4.4 | |||
Food away from home | 284.894 | 291.645 | 6.5 | 2.4 | |||
Alcoholic beverages | 191.843 | 197.647 | -1.4 | 3.0 | |||
Housing | 283.053 | 283.829 | 1.6 | 0.3 | |||
Shelter | 340.344 | 342.122 | 341.944 | 1.7 | 0.5 | -0.1 | |
Rent of primary residence | 378.325 | 379.735 | 380.032 | 3.1 | 0.5 | 0.1 | |
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2) | 349.222 | 350.269 | 350.731 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 | |
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2) | 349.222 | 350.269 | 350.731 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 | |
Fuels and utilities | 243.811 | 236.399 | -1.6 | -3.0 | |||
Household energy | 189.831 | 180.380 | 181.675 | -2.9 | -4.3 | 0.7 | |
Energy services | 194.872 | 184.780 | 185.935 | -3.0 | -4.6 | 0.6 | |
Electricity | 214.326 | 212.347 | 210.697 | -5.2 | -1.7 | -0.8 | |
Utility (piped) gas service | 147.257 | 124.863 | 130.466 | 4.9 | -11.4 | 4.5 | |
Household furnishings and operations | 111.171 | 112.592 | 3.1 | 1.3 | |||
Apparel | 143.903 | 153.947 | -7.7 | 7.0 | |||
Transportation | 210.230 | 208.563 | -3.1 | -0.8 | |||
Private transportation | 213.036 | 212.133 | -0.2 | -0.4 | |||
New and used motor vehicles(3) | 94.968 | 96.380 | 3.7 | 1.5 | |||
New vehicles(1) | 195.712 | 192.465 | 0.3 | -1.7 | |||
Used cars and trucks(1) | 303.564 | 328.334 | 10.6 | 8.2 | |||
Motor fuel | 207.955 | 209.330 | 212.512 | -9.6 | 2.2 | 1.5 | |
Gasoline (all types) | 205.578 | 206.942 | 210.211 | -9.5 | 2.3 | 1.6 | |
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4) | 199.234 | 200.581 | 203.785 | -9.9 | 2.3 | 1.6 | |
218.545 | 221.244 | 223.073 | -5.7 | 2.1 | 0.8 | ||
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4) | 230.634 | 231.726 | 235.387 | -6.8 | 2.1 | 1.6 | |
Motor vehicle insurance(1) | 897.449 | 810.380 | -5.7 | -9.7 | |||
Medical care | 494.021 | 494.879 | 7.6 | 0.2 | |||
Recreation(3) | 110.476 | 111.468 | -4.2 | 0.9 | |||
Education and communication(3) | 154.625 | 155.960 | 2.2 | 0.9 | |||
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1) | 1,414.752 | 1,436.779 | 2.0 | 1.6 | |||
Other goods and services | 431.885 | 428.164 | 2.8 | -0.9 | |||
Commodity and service group | |||||||
Commodities | 180.172 | 182.996 | 1.6 | 1.6 | |||
Commodities less food and beverages | 139.926 | 142.214 | -1.0 | 1.6 | |||
Nondurables less food and beverages | 181.533 | 185.125 | -3.2 | 2.0 | |||
Durables | 100.188 | 101.452 | 1.5 | 1.3 | |||
Services | 346.798 | 346.690 | 1.0 | 0.0 | |||
Special aggregate indexes | |||||||
All items less shelter | 238.006 | 239.448 | 1.0 | 0.6 | |||
All items less medical care | 256.577 | 258.108 | 0.7 | 0.6 | |||
Commodities less food | 142.307 | 144.770 | -1.0 | 1.7 | |||
Nondurables | 220.728 | 224.418 | 1.6 | 1.7 | |||
Nondurables less food | 182.291 | 186.133 | -3.0 | 2.1 | |||
Services less rent of shelter(2) | 365.237 | 363.170 | 0.2 | -0.6 | |||
Services less medical care services | 331.857 | 331.661 | 0.1 | -0.1 | |||
Energy | 201.787 | 196.863 | 199.010 | -6.1 | -1.4 | 1.1 | |
All items less energy | 275.627 | 277.434 | 1.6 | 0.7 | |||
All items less food and energy | 278.127 | 279.564 | 0.9 | 0.5 | |||
Footnotes |
Last Modified Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2020