The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area advanced 2.1 percent from the first half of 2013 to the first half of 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the all items less food and energy index was 1.9 percent higher compared to its first half 2013 level as price increases were noted for several categories, most notably shelter. Food prices rose 2.6 percent over the year while the index for energy increased 2.5 percent. (See chart 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 2.6 percent since the first half of 2013, led by a 3.9-percent increase in prices for food at home. Prices for food away from home were unchanged over the year.

Energy

The energy index rose 2.5 percent from the first half of 2013 to the first half of 2014, reflecting increases in prices for electricity (5.6 percent), utility (piped) gas service (7.9 percent), and motor fuel (0.2 percent).

All items less food and energy

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.9 percent. Shelter, up 3.5 percent, was among the components contributing to the increase.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in prices over time of goods and services purchased by households. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which covers 29 percent of the total population and (2) the CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and the Chained CPI for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U), which cover approximately 88 percent of the total population and include, in addition to wage earners and clerical worker households, 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 CPIs are 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. Prices are collected each month in 87 urban areas across the country from about 4,000 housing units and approximately 26,000 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.

In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each location are averaged together with weights, which represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Local data are then combined to obtain a U.S. city average. For the CPI-U and CPI-W separate indexes are also published by size of city, by region of the country, for cross-classifications of regions and population-size classed, and for 27 local areas. Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices among cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period. For the C-CPI-U, data are issued only at the national level. It is important to note that the CPI-U and CPI-W are considered final when released, but the C-CPI-U is issued in preliminary form and subject to two annual revisions.

The index measures price changes from a designated reference date. For the CPI-U and the CPI-W the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. The reference base for the C-CPI-U is December 1999 equals 100. An increase of 16.5 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 116.500. 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 visit the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi or contact our CPI Information and Analysis Section at (202) 691-7000.

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 for semiannual averages and percent changes for selected periods
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL (1987=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Semiannual average indexes			Percent change to 2nd half 2010 from-
	Jun. 2013	Dec. 2013	Jun. 2014	Jun. 2013	Dec. 2013
Expenditure category
All Items	206.436	207.136	210.736	2.1	1.7
Food and beverages	205.823	207.762	211.074	2.6	1.6
Food	205.186	207.082	210.440	2.6	1.6
Food at home	206.658	210.627	214.643	3.9	1.9
Food away from home	204.485	203.879	204.484	0.0	0.3
Alcoholic beverages	201.981	204.405	206.829	2.4	1.2
Housing	189.605	191.617	195.497	3.1	2.0
Shelter	208.281	211.209	215.512	3.5	2.0
Rent of primary residence (1)	206.494	210.391	215.608	4.4	2.5
Owners' equiv. rent of residences (1)	219.595	223.070	226.613	3.2	1.6
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence (1)	219.595	223.070	226.613	3.2	1.6
Fuels and utilities	202.014	204.172	211.915	4.9	3.8
Household energy	164.404	165.469	173.911	5.8	5.1
Energy services (1)	161.443	162.595	170.945	5.9	5.1
Electricity (1)	159.197	160.159	168.162	5.6	5.0
Utility (piped) gas service (1)	237.966	241.719	256.827	7.9	6.3
Household furnishings and operations	117.896	116.315	114.164	-3.2	-1.8
Apparel	163.188	162.552	162.642	-0.3	0.1
Transportation	217.909	213.243	216.400	-0.7	1.5
Private transportation	224.214	219.558	222.260	-0.9	1.2
Motor fuel	382.523	369.415	383.267	0.2	3.7
Gasoline (all types)	374.823	361.883	375.432	0.2	3.7
Unleaded regular (2)	371.985	358.436	371.954	0.0	3.8
Unleaded midgrade (2) (3)	327.145	315.379	327.122	0.0	3.7
Unleaded premium (2)	370.697	362.714	375.778	1.4	3.6
Medical Care	336.586	341.028	355.382	5.6	4.2
Recreation (4)	124.046	123.295	124.026	0.0	0.6
Education and communication (4)	134.865	137.271	138.079	2.4	0.6
Other goods and services	290.474	288.507	291.242	0.3	0.9
Commodity and service group
All Items	206.436	207.136	210.736	2.1	1.7
Commodities	177.188	176.112	178.461	0.7	1.3
Commodities less food & beverages	161.403	158.737	160.570	-0.5	1.2
Nondurables less food & beverages	236.616	234.119	239.501	1.2	2.3
Durables	98.329	95.610	94.731	-3.7	-0.9
Services	232.798	234.946	239.626	2.9	2.0
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	199.208	199.744	202.840	1.8	1.5
All items less shelter	206.902	206.594	209.674	1.3	1.5
Commodities less food	164.118	161.615	163.488	-0.4	1.2
Nondurables	219.507	219.417	223.682	1.9	1.9
Nondurables less food	234.285	232.162	237.341	1.3	2.2
Services less rent of shelter	260.453	261.591	266.346	2.3	1.8
Services less medical care services	221.637	223.778	227.908	2.8	1.8
Energy	247.138	242.805	253.288	2.5	4.3
All items less energy	202.675	203.750	206.772	2.0	1.5
All items less food and energy	202.437	203.362	206.324	1.9	1.5
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) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (3) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (4) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
NOTE: Data not seasonally adjusted.