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News Release Information

20-1880-CHI
Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (312) 353-1138

Consumer Price Index, Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington — September 2020

Area prices were up 2.1 percent over the past two months, up 1.9 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 2.1 percent for the two months ending in September 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.  Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that food prices increased 0.2 percent and the energy index was up 2.5 percent over the two-month period. The all items less food and energy index rose 2.4 percent from July to September due to higher prices for recreation and apparel. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 1.9 percent. (See table A.)  The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.4 percent over the year. Food prices rose 3.5 percent. Energy prices declined 7.2 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.2 percent for the two months ending in September.  Prices for food at home (groceries) decreased 0.4 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) advanced 1.1 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 3.5 percent. Prices for food at home increased 2.1 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home advanced 5.2 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 2.5 percent for the two months ending in September. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for utility (piped) gas service (+12.6 percent). Prices for electricity rose 1.0 percent, and prices for gasoline rose 0.4 percent for the same period.

Energy prices declined 7.2 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-20.7 percent). Prices paid for utility (piped) gas service increased 15.9 percent, and prices for electricity rose 5.6 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.4 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for recreation (+18.0 percent) and apparel (+13.6 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for shelter (-0.5 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.4 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (+2.6 percent) and medical care (+4.9 percent).

Table A. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month201820192020
2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month

January

0.30.41.40.63.0

March

0.51.42.3-0.31.2

May

1.01.02.3-0.10.0

July

0.30.32.2-0.1-0.3

September

0.3-0.21.72.11.9

November

-1.21.3-0.22.8

The November 2020 Consumer Price Index for Minneapolis is scheduled to be released on Thursday, December 10, 2020.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on September 2020 Consumer Price Index Data

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.


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 93 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 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 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, Core Based Statistical Area covered in this release is comprised of Anoka, Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, Isanti, LeSueur, Mille Lacs, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne, Sibley, Washington, and Wright Counties in Minnesota; and Pierce and St. Croix Counties in Wisconsin.

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
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

IndexesPercent change from-
Jul.
2020
Aug.
2020
Sep.
2020
Sep.
2019
Jul.
2020
Aug.
2020

Expenditure category

All items

250.986-256.2801.92.1-

All items (1967=100)

788.729-805.368---

Food and beverages

294.397-294.9183.30.2-

Food

283.005-283.6583.50.2-

Food at home

253.447254.864252.4872.1-0.4-0.9

Cereals and bakery products

270.094-276.3430.32.3-

Meats, poultry, fish and eggs

277.130-276.1834.5-0.3-

Dairy and related products

264.473-264.724-4.10.1-

Fruits and vegetables

359.374-352.2593.5-2.0-

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

163.828-156.4932.1-4.5-

Other food at home

198.413-201.0202.61.3-

Food away from home

325.283-328.7665.21.1-

Alcoholic beverages

393.211-391.6791.8-0.4-

Housing

246.104-246.2853.40.1-

Shelter

291.762289.648290.3672.6-0.50.2

Rent of primary residence(2)

298.804299.202300.0483.90.40.3

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)

307.415307.752308.3834.30.30.2

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)(3)

307.415307.752308.3834.30.30.2

Fuels and utilities

218.640-226.2978.33.5-

Household energy

194.424195.985203.2429.84.53.7

Energy services(2)

198.713200.273207.5669.44.53.6

Electricity(2)

290.734289.915293.5445.61.01.3

Utility (piped) gas service(2)

117.992121.863132.87415.912.69.0

Household furnishings and operations

125.994-127.5935.01.3-

Apparel

125.388-142.491-2.513.6-

Transportation

189.468-189.804-5.20.2-

Private transportation

179.548-180.796-2.60.7-

New and used motor vehicles(4)

92.463-93.8934.01.5-

New vehicles(1)

157.186-157.0161.2-0.1-

Used cars and trucks(1)

280.224-302.94411.78.1-

Motor fuel

169.890167.393170.469-20.60.31.8

Gasoline (all types)

170.014167.388170.683-20.70.42.0

Gasoline, unleaded regular(5)

169.637167.039170.471-20.80.52.1

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)

179.986173.849177.798-19.8-1.22.3

Gasoline, unleaded premium(5)

217.841215.106217.007-19.1-0.40.9

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

484.336-465.0570.5-4.0-

Medical care

574.841-593.1384.93.2-

Recreation(4)

112.540-132.7601.118.0-

Education and communication(4)

136.153-139.0541.22.1-

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)

1,091.161-1,127.5793.53.3-

Other goods and services

389.045-396.5504.71.9-

Commodity and service group

All items

250.986-256.2801.92.1-

Commodities

186.613-190.2000.61.9-

Commodities less food and beverages

140.759-145.012-1.13.0-

Nondurables less food and beverages

180.338-189.342-3.75.0-

Durables

105.756-106.5252.30.7-

Services

308.302-315.1412.72.2-

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

236.421-241.1581.62.0-

All items less shelter

234.579-242.7341.63.5-

Commodities less food

149.282-153.528-0.92.8-

Nondurables

232.722-238.296-0.12.4-

Nondurables less food

193.934-202.653-3.34.5-

Services less rent of shelter(3)

338.523-356.7362.95.4-

Services less medical care services

284.320-290.0412.32.0-

Energy

184.105183.538188.681-7.22.52.8

All items less energy

261.326-266.7842.52.1-

All items less food and energy

258.232-264.3852.42.4-

Footnotes
(1) Index on an April 1978=100 base.
(2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator.
(3) Index on a December 1982=100 base.
(4) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
(5) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(6) Index on a December 1993=100 base.

- Data not available.
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2020