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News Release Information

15-1596-KAN
Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (816) 285-7000

Consumer Price Index, Kansas City – First Half 2015

Prices decreased 0.6 percent from the first half of 2014 to the first half of 2015

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the Kansas City, Mo.-Kan., metropolitan area decreased 0.6 percent from the first half of 2014 to the first half of 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This is the first over-the-year decline in the all items index since 2009. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that the energy index had the largest downward impact on the index. Energy costs decreased 18.8 percent, food prices advanced 2.1 percent, and the all items less food and energy index rose 1.2 percent over the year.

Food

Food prices rose 2.1 percent from the first half of 2014 to the first half of 2015. Within the food index, costs for food at home advanced 1.6 percent and prices for food away from home were up 2.5 percent. These compared with increases of 2.6 percent and 2.0 percent, respectively, in the 12-month period that ended in the first half of 2014.

Energy

The energy index, which includes motor fuel and household fuels, fell 18.8 percent from the first half of 2014 to the first half of 2015, registering the largest over-the-year decrease in this component since 2009. Falling prices for motor fuel (-30.7 percent), most of which occurred in the most recent six months of the period, were largely responsible for the decline in the energy index. Costs for utility (piped) gas service, down 13.4 percent over the year, also contributed to the decrease. In contrast, electricity prices rose 1.5 percent from the first half of 2014.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.2 percent from the first half of 2014 to the first half of 2015, after registering no change in the same period one year ago. Shelter costs advanced 2.7 percent and had the largest upward impact on the all items less food and energy index. In contrast, education and communication (-1.8 percent) and apparel (-3.0 percent) were among the expenditure categories posting lower prices over the year.

The Kansas City CPI-U stood at 221.505 for the first half of 2015. This means that a market basket of goods and services that cost $100.00 in the 1982-84 base period cost $221.51 in the first half of 2015. Because metropolitan area CPI data are not adjusted for seasonal price variation, consumers and businesses should be cautious in drawing conclusions about long-term retail price trends from short-term changes in the metropolitan area indexes.

CPI-W

The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the Kansas City, Mo.-Kan., metropolitan area for the first half of 2015 was 212.284. The CPI-W decreased 1.2 percent from the first half of 2014 to the first half of 2015.

The Consumer Price Index for the Second Half of 2015 is scheduled to be released in January 2016.


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 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 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/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 areas; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.

The Kansas City, Mo.-Kan., area covered in this release includes Johnson, Leavenworth, Miami, and Wyandotte Counties in Kansas; and Cass, Clay, Clinton, Jackson, Lafayette, Platte, and Ray Counties in Missouri.

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

Kansas City, MO-KS (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

 
Semiannual average indexes
 
Percent change to
1st half 2015 from-
1st half
2014
2nd half
2014
1st half
2015
1st half
2014
2nd half
2014

Expenditure category

 
 

All Items

222.842222.470221.505-0.6-0.4

All items (1967=100)

661.697660.592657.726  

Food and beverages

249.749255.318255.4322.30.0

Food

255.052260.738260.5042.1-0.1

Food at home

245.461251.246249.4041.6-0.7

Food away from home

271.526276.272278.1912.50.7

Alcoholic beverages

188.608192.818196.3844.11.8

Housing

207.730208.829211.1731.71.1

Shelter

229.512231.383235.6472.71.8

Rent of primary residence (1)

233.518236.641240.4913.01.6

Owners' equiv. rent of residences (1) (2)

225.719227.932230.4952.11.1

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence (1) (2)

225.719227.932230.4952.11.1

Fuels and utilities

232.356232.619227.333-2.2-2.3

Household energy

200.999197.587191.597-4.7-3.0

Energy services (1)

198.208195.305189.440-4.4-3.0

Electricity (1)

156.491158.233158.7661.50.3

Utility (piped) gas service (1)

218.245206.438188.958-13.4-8.5

Household furnishings and operations

124.098122.360123.576-0.41.0

Apparel

120.186116.323116.529-3.00.2

Transportation

212.086204.681192.376-9.3-6.0

Private transportation

209.281202.169189.793-9.3-6.1

Motor fuel

306.027277.639211.974-30.7-23.7

Gasoline (all types)

305.006276.570211.172-30.8-23.6

Gasoline, unleaded regular (3)

298.380270.348205.905-31.0-23.8

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (3) (4)

370.843335.535256.530-30.8-23.5

Gasoline, unleaded premium (3)

296.360270.634211.210-28.7-22.0

Medical Care

336.849339.435343.7752.11.3

Recreation (5)

130.336128.090129.837-0.41.4

Education and communication (5)

127.780127.697125.422-1.8-1.8

Other goods and services

380.770383.306385.8611.30.7
 

Commodity and Service Group

 
 

All Items

222.842222.470221.505-0.6-0.4

Commodities

190.720188.832184.182-3.4-2.5

Commodities less food & beverages

162.366157.413150.881-7.1-4.1

Nondurables less food & beverages

220.256210.795195.595-11.2-7.2

Durables

108.145107.107108.005-0.10.8

Services

254.498255.519257.9461.40.9
 

Special aggregate indexes:

 
 

All items less medical care

216.459215.909214.623-0.8-0.6

All items less shelter

222.129220.812217.807-1.9-1.4

Commodities less food

163.401158.785152.621-6.6-3.9

Nondurables

234.689232.345224.367-4.4-3.4

Nondurables less food

218.537210.096196.282-10.2-6.6

Services less rent of shelter (2)

292.831292.769293.2620.10.2

Services less medical care services

242.062243.052245.2921.30.9

Energy

250.577236.031203.470-18.8-13.8

All items less energy

221.493222.504224.5671.40.9

All items less food and energy

216.040216.269218.7181.21.1

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.
 

Table 2. Consumer Price Index for Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W): Indexes for semiannual averages and percent changes for selected periods

Kansas City, MO-KS (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

 
Semiannual average indexes
 
Percent change to
1st half 2015 from-
1st half
2014
2nd half
2014
1st half
2015
1st half
2014
2nd half
2014

Expenditure category

 
 

All Items

214.905214.311212.284-1.2-0.9

All items (1967=100)

629.671627.932621.993  

Food and beverages

252.235258.074258.1572.30.0

Food

256.689262.576262.3902.2-0.1

Food at home

244.696250.526248.8611.7-0.7

Food away from home

277.819282.902284.9122.60.7

Alcoholic beverages

191.419196.570200.2414.61.9

Housing

198.978200.250201.9841.50.9

Shelter

216.955219.005222.5742.61.6

Rent of primary residence (1)

233.518236.641240.4913.01.6

Owners' equiv. rent of residences (1) (2)

205.503207.518209.8512.11.1

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence (1) (2)

205.503207.518209.8512.11.1

Fuels and utilities

232.043232.560227.304-2.0-2.3

Household energy

201.318198.146192.081-4.6-3.1

Energy services (1)

198.887195.968190.074-4.4-3.0

Electricity (1)

156.493158.235158.7681.50.3

Utility (piped) gas service (1)

218.244206.437188.957-13.4-8.5

Household furnishings and operations

112.691110.902111.914-0.70.9

Apparel

109.178106.853107.449-1.60.6

Transportation

201.722193.153178.193-11.7-7.7

Private transportation

200.502192.053176.977-11.7-7.8

Motor fuel

305.973277.544211.906-30.7-23.6

Gasoline (all types)

304.999276.563211.167-30.8-23.6

Gasoline, unleaded regular (3)

298.377270.345205.903-31.0-23.8

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (3) (4)

370.843335.535256.530-30.8-23.5

Gasoline, unleaded premium (3)

296.349270.624211.202-28.7-22.0

Medical Care

344.466347.206351.1201.91.1

Recreation (5)

129.064126.438128.190-0.71.4

Education and communication (5)

117.148116.407113.490-3.1-2.5

Other goods and services

407.396410.582413.8821.60.8
 

Commodity and Service Group

 
 

All Items

214.905214.311212.284-1.2-0.9

Commodities

188.214186.006179.971-4.4-3.2

Commodities less food & beverages

159.601154.045145.521-8.8-5.5

Nondurables less food & beverages

222.040211.670193.314-12.9-8.7

Durables

109.080107.937108.674-0.40.7

Services

245.722246.680248.5001.10.7
 

Special aggregate indexes:

 
 

All items less medical care

209.334208.575206.251-1.5-1.1

All items less shelter

215.275213.615209.390-2.7-2.0

Commodities less food

160.876155.612147.414-8.4-5.3

Nondurables

236.928234.074224.218-5.4-4.2

Nondurables less food

221.118211.599194.430-12.1-8.1

Services less rent of shelter (2)

257.138256.763256.560-0.2-0.1

Services less medical care services

233.250234.188235.8581.10.7

Energy

249.848234.850200.888-19.6-14.5

All items less energy

212.323213.523215.3191.40.8

All items less food and energy

203.598203.955206.0991.21.1

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 1984=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.
 

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, August 19, 2015