The Cleveland-Akron, Ohio, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) edged up 0.1 percent from March to May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that food prices were unchanged and energy costs were down 0.1 percent over the bi-monthly period. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent over the past two months. Within this last category, costs were higher for shelter and household furnishings and operations. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the past 12 months the Cleveland area all items CPI-U rose 0.5 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index fell 0.1 percent over the year as declines in the indexes for electricity and gasoline more than offset an increase in the index for utility (piped) gas service. The all items less food and energy index was 0.6 percent higher over the past 12 months. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices were unchanged from March to May. Between the food index’s two components, prices for food at home (groceries) recorded no change, while prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) were down 0.1 percent over the recent two-month period.

From May 2016 to May 2017 overall food prices were 0.2 percent higher. The food away from home index rose 1.4 percent, while the index for food at home was down 0.6 percent compared to last May.

Energy

The energy index fell 0.1 percent from March to May. A 4.3-percent decline in the utility (pipe) gas service index and a 0.4-percent drop in the electricity index more than offset a 2.2-percent rise in the gasoline index.

Over the year, the energy index decreased 0.1 percent. Annual declines of 9.2 percent in the index for electricity and 1.7 percent in the gasoline index more than offset a 26.0-percent rise in the index for utility (pipe) gas service.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.2 percent from March to May. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for shelter (0.6 percent) and for household furnishings and operations (2.6 percent). Costs for recreation (-1.5 percent), apparel (-2.8 percent), and education and communication (-0.7 percent) were lower over the two-month period.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 0.6 percent. Annual increases in the indexes for medical care (5.9 percent), shelter (1.6 percent), and recreation (1.1 percent) were major contributing factors.

Table A. Cleveland CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2013		2014		2015		2016		2017
	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	0.3	1.1	-0.7	0.5	-0.1	0.1	0.7	1.6
March	0.9	1.0	1.6	1.9	0.9	-0.2	0.5	-0.2	0.3	1.3
May	0.4	1.5	0.2	1.7	0.4	-0.1	0.9	0.3	0.1	0.5
July	0.7	2.2	0.5	1.4	0.9	0.4	0.0	-0.6
September	-0.4	0.7	-0.5	1.3	-1.4	-0.4	-0.5	0.3
November	-0.7	1.0	-0.6	1.5	-0.5	-0.4	-0.1	0.8

The July 2017 Consumer Price Index for Cleveland is scheduled to be released on Friday, August 11, 2017.

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 89 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 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 87 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 24,000 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 Cleveland-Akron, Ohio consolidated area covered in this release is comprised of Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, and Summit Counties in Ohio.

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.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods
Cleveland-Akron, OH (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Mar. 2017	Apr. 2017	May 2017	May 2016	Mar. 2017	Apr. 2017
Expenditure category
All items	222.849	-	223.089	0.5	0.1	-
All items (1967=100)	714.113	-	714.883	-	-	-
Food and beverages	250.214	-	250.232	0.3	0.0	-
Food	254.614	-	254.531	0.2	0.0	-
Food at home	240.982	240.940	240.975	-0.6	0.0	0.0
Food away from home	279.358	-	279.145	1.4	-0.1	-
Alcoholic beverages	199.377	-	200.318	1.6	0.5	-
Housing	207.623	-	208.846	1.5	0.6	-
Shelter	242.235	243.512	243.725	1.6	0.6	0.1
Rent of primary residence(1)	240.779	241.353	242.055	2.4	0.5	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)	237.318	238.413	239.392	2.7	0.9	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	237.318	238.413	239.392	2.7	0.9	0.4
Fuels and utilities	194.592	-	192.311	2.4	-1.2	-
Household energy	157.572	150.044	154.721	1.3	-1.8	3.1
Energy services(1)	155.759	148.193	152.899	1.1	-1.8	3.2
Electricity(1)	164.916	160.859	164.274	-9.2	-0.4	2.1
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	126.922	115.660	121.516	26.0	-4.3	5.1
Household furnishings and operations	114.921	-	117.919	0.3	2.6	-
Apparel	136.930	-	133.131	-5.0	-2.8	-
Transportation	191.063	-	193.097	-1.7	1.1	-
Private transportation	190.969	-	192.417	-2.0	0.8	-
Motor fuel	228.180	240.132	233.066	-1.7	2.1	-2.9
Gasoline (all types)	225.717	237.580	230.575	-1.7	2.2	-2.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)	212.654	223.937	217.274	-2.2	2.2	-3.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)	240.583	252.788	246.294	-1.8	2.4	-2.6
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)	246.478	258.180	250.703	-0.7	1.7	-2.9
Medical care	445.113	-	443.292	5.9	-0.4	-
Recreation(5)	120.320	-	118.516	1.1	-1.5	-
Education and communication(5)	125.043	-	124.180	-2.2	-0.7	-
Other goods and services	414.741	-	412.654	-2.1	-0.5	-
Commodity and service group
All items	222.849	-	223.089	0.5	0.1	-
Commodities	188.244	-	188.087	-0.7	-0.1	-
Commodities less food & beverages	157.105	-	156.863	-1.6	-0.2	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	205.836	-	204.922	-0.4	-0.4	-
Durables	105.859	-	106.125	-3.1	0.3	-
Services	257.873	-	258.489	1.4	0.2	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	212.641	-	212.978	0.0	0.2	-
All items less shelter	217.229	-	217.017	0.1	-0.1	-
Commodities less food	158.787	-	158.599	-1.4	-0.1	-
Nondurables	227.993	-	227.568	0.0	-0.2	-
Nondurables less food	204.925	-	204.194	-0.2	-0.4	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	280.211	-	279.892	1.2	-0.1	-
Services less medical care services	244.809	-	245.594	1.3	0.3	-
Energy	185.088	184.445	184.973	-0.1	-0.1	0.3
All items less energy	228.622	-	228.898	0.6	0.1	-
All items less food and energy	224.285	-	224.629	0.6	0.2	-
Footnotes (1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (2) Index is on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
- Data not available. Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.