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News Release Information

21-1011-CHI
Thursday, June 10, 2021

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

Consumer Price Index, Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington — May 2021

Area prices were up 1.4 percent over the past two months, up 4.6 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), advanced 1.4 percent for the two months ending in May 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that the food index increased 0.4 percent, and the energy index rose 1.6 percent from March to May. The all items less food and energy index rose 1.6 percent over the past two months. Among the indexes within the all items less food and energy category, prices were higher for new and used motor vehicles 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 advanced 4.6 percent. (See table A.)  The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.6 percent over the year. Energy prices increased 28.3 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. Food prices rose 2.3 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 0.4 percent for the two months ending in May.  Prices for food at home (groceries) declined 0.2 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) rose 1.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 2.3 percent. Prices for food at home rose 1.6 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home advanced 3.2 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 1.6 percent for the two months ending in May. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (1.9 percent). Prices for utility (piped) gas service increased 6.3 percent, while prices for electricity decreased 1.0 percent for the same period.

Energy prices increased 28.3 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (59.5 percent). Prices paid for utility (piped) gas service rose 13.3 percent, while prices for electricity decreased 3.3 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.6 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for new and used motor vehicles (8.6 percent); apparel (5.4 percent); and household furnishings and operations (2.5 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for medical care (-0.4 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.6 percent. Components contributing to the increase included new and used motor vehicles (11.0 percent); medical care (4.8 percent); and household furnishings and operations (6.4 percent).

Table A. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month 2018 2019 2020 2021
2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month

January

0.3 0.4 1.4 0.6 3.0 0.4 1.6

March

0.5 1.4 2.3 -0.3 1.2 1.1 3.0

May

1.0 1.0 2.3 -0.1 0.0 1.4 4.6

July

0.3 0.3 2.2 -0.1 -0.3

September

0.3 -0.2 1.7 2.1 1.9

November

-1.2 1.3 -0.2 2.8 -0.4 1.7

The July 2021 Consumer Price Index for Minneapolis is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, August 11, 2021.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on May 2021 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 May 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 U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. 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 6,000 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; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000.  Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods 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 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

Indexes Percent change from-
Mar.
2021
Apr.
2021
May
2021
May
2020
Mar.
2021
Apr.
2021

Expenditure category

All items

259.187 - 262.898 4.6 1.4 -

All items (1967=100)

814.501 - 826.163 - - -

Food and beverages

297.779 - 299.268 1.9 0.5 -

Food

287.023 - 288.238 2.3 0.4 -

Food at home

258.456 256.044 257.953 1.6 -0.2 0.7

Cereals and bakery products

265.669 - 274.424 4.2 3.3 -

Meats, poultry, fish and eggs

286.456 - 287.802 -0.1 0.5 -

Dairy and related products

283.091 - 288.089 0.7 1.8 -

Fruits and vegetables

350.254 - 352.687 2.9 0.7 -

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

165.684 - 161.654 3.5 -2.4 -

Other food at home

206.665 - 201.432 0.8 -2.5 -

Food away from home

327.411 - 331.620 3.2 1.3 -

Alcoholic beverages

386.516 - 391.668 -1.9 1.3 -

Housing

246.332 - 247.529 1.4 0.5 -

Shelter

292.167 294.435 292.467 0.4 0.1 -0.7

Rent of primary residence(2)

302.352 303.803 303.376 1.6 0.3 -0.1

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

311.758 312.236 312.974 2.3 0.4 0.2

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

311.758 312.236 312.974 2.3 0.4 0.2

Fuels and utilities

215.688 - 217.461 2.8 0.8 -

Household energy

189.928 183.772 191.900 3.0 1.0 4.4

Energy services(2)

191.379 185.419 194.254 2.1 1.5 4.8

Electricity(2)

261.359 252.075 258.671 -3.3 -1.0 2.6

Utility (piped) gas service(2)

131.329 128.326 139.577 13.3 6.3 8.8

Household furnishings and operations

126.831 - 130.007 6.4 2.5 -

Apparel

133.734 - 140.966 9.9 5.4 -

Transportation

204.030 - 217.716 21.0 6.7 -

Private transportation

196.117 - 204.813 20.4 4.4 -

New and used motor vehicles(4)

94.798 - 102.956 11.0 8.6 -

New vehicles(1)

159.430 - 168.418 5.5 5.6 -

Used cars and trucks(1)

306.503 - 355.809 31.2 16.1 -

Motor fuel

224.591 224.415 229.095 58.0 2.0 2.1

Gasoline (all types)

225.659 225.181 230.010 59.5 1.9 2.1

Gasoline, unleaded regular(5)

226.649 225.895 230.625 60.4 1.8 2.1

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)

226.838 221.341 228.714 46.9 0.8 3.3

Gasoline, unleaded premium(5)

270.728 275.483 282.281 51.7 4.3 2.5

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

510.388 - 510.388 35.9 0.0 -

Medical care

604.866 - 602.262 4.8 -0.4 -

Recreation(4)

132.860 - 133.917 1.4 0.8 -

Education and communication(4)

139.020 - 139.475 1.6 0.3 -

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)

1,131.870 - 1,131.870 3.9 0.0 -

Other goods and services

407.868 - 409.109 4.6 0.3 -

Commodity and service group

All items

259.187 - 262.898 4.6 1.4 -

Commodities

193.866 - 198.501 7.7 2.4 -

Commodities less food and beverages

148.658 - 153.907 11.4 3.5 -

Nondurables less food and beverages

197.894 - 201.863 15.3 2.0 -

Durables

106.616 - 112.439 6.9 5.5 -

Services

317.271 - 320.036 2.9 0.9 -

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

243.690 - 247.636 4.6 1.6 -

All items less shelter

246.120 - 251.293 6.9 2.1 -

Commodities less food

157.093 - 162.472 10.7 3.4 -

Nondurables

244.600 - 247.594 8.0 1.2 -

Nondurables less food

210.766 - 214.875 13.7 1.9 -

Services less rent of shelter(3)

359.208 - 365.386 5.7 1.7 -

Services less medical care services

291.265 - 294.284 2.4 1.0 -

Energy

210.896 207.822 214.235 28.3 1.6 3.1

All items less energy

268.231 - 272.047 3.5 1.4 -

All items less food and energy

265.555 - 269.746 3.6 1.6 -

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: Thursday, June 10, 2021