Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

News Release Information

16-1010-ATL
Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

Consumer Price Index, Atlanta – April 2016

Area prices up 1.0 percent over the two months and 1.9 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Atlanta rose 1.0 percent over the March-April pricing period, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the energy index advanced 10.6 percent and the all items less food and energy index rose 0.4 percent over the two months. The food index declined 0.4 percent during the March-April pricing period. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the all items CPI-U increased 1.9 percent. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.2 percent over the year as several indexes registered increases, most notably shelter. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

Food prices declined 0.4 percent during the March-April pricing period as food at home prices declined 0.7 percent. Prices for food away from home were unchanged over the two months.

Over the year, the food index decreased 0.8 percent, led by a 1.9-percent price decline in the food at home index. Prices for food away from home increased 0.9 percent since April 2015.

Energy

The energy index advanced 10.6 percent over the two-month pricing period, led by a 25.7-percent increase in motor fuel prices. Prices for utility (piped) gas service and electricity declined over the March-April pricing period, down 1.1 and 0.1 percent, respectively.

Over the year, the energy index decreased 4.8 percent, reflecting a 8.6-percent drop in motor fuel prices. Since April 2015, prices declined 2.9 percent for utility (piped) gas service and 0.8 percent for electricity.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.4 percent during the March-April pricing period as increases were recorded for shelter (0.5 percent), and medical care (1.9 percent).

From April 2015 to April 2016, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.2 percent, led by increases in several indexes, most notably shelter (4.1 percent). Other indexes noting increases included medical care (6.0 percent), apparel (8.9 percent), and other goods and services (7.0 percent).

Table A. Atlanta CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month20122013201420152016
2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month

February

1.02.41.92.11.31.80.0-0.30.31.6

April

1.11.80.11.10.82.50.7-0.51.01.9

June

0.61.51.01.41.53.02.50.6  

August

0.61.50.71.5-0.12.2-0.10.6  

October

-1.21.8-1.01.6-1.12.2-1.20.5  

December

-0.91.2-0.22.4-1.50.9-0.61.4  

The Consumer Price Index for May 2016 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, June 16, 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 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 Atlanta, Ga. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Pickens, Rockdale, Spalding, and Walton Counties in Georgia.

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
Atlanta, GA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

 
Indexes
 
Percent change from-
Feb.
2016
Mar.
2016
Apr.
2016
Apr.
2015
Feb.
2016
Mar.
2016

Expenditure category

 
 

All Items

221.658-223.8201.91.0-

All items (1967=100)

668.452-674.972---

Food and beverages

250.126-249.194-0.6-0.4-

Food

260.978-259.897-0.8-0.4-

Food at home

249.731248.250247.896-1.9-0.7-0.1

Food away from home

279.820-279.8540.90.0-

Alcoholic beverages

153.264-153.6691.40.3-

Housing

218.894-219.6882.50.4-

Shelter

238.867239.406240.1644.10.50.3

Rent of primary residence (1)

242.253243.594244.6795.11.00.4

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

233.252233.260233.9203.70.30.3

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

233.252233.260233.9203.70.30.3

Fuels and utilities

272.464-271.664-1.0-0.3-

Household energy

231.112229.957230.216-1.2-0.40.1

Energy Services (1)

229.827228.610229.117-1.2-0.30.2

Electricity (1)

205.439205.320205.320-0.8-0.10.0

Utility (piped) gas service (1)

243.863238.942241.180-2.9-1.10.9

Household furnishings and operations

119.202-118.670-6.5-0.4-

Apparel

144.845-142.5428.9-1.6-

Transportation

177.999-188.003-0.75.6-

Private transportation

176.090-186.568-1.26.0-

Motor fuel

150.260171.279188.876-8.625.710.3

Gasoline (all types)

149.161170.268187.915-8.426.010.4

Unleaded regular (3)

145.257166.400183.966-8.926.610.6

Unleaded midgrade (3) (4)

189.572212.926233.679-6.323.39.7

Unleaded premium (3)

169.347188.128204.730-4.320.98.8

Medical Care

425.095-433.2786.01.9-

Recreation (5)

86.938-86.443-0.9-0.6-

Education and communication (5)

135.758-134.9551.5-0.6-

Other goods and services

364.104-364.9167.00.2-
 

Commodity and service group

 
 

All Items

221.658-223.8201.91.0-

Commodities

171.551-175.521-0.52.3-

Commodities less food & beverages

136.608-142.596-0.14.4-

Nondurables less food & beverages

162.342-173.4820.66.9-

Durables

109.720-110.516-1.40.7-

Services

268.994-269.6143.20.2-
 

Special aggregate indexes

 
 

All items less medical care

210.844-212.7181.60.9-

All items less shelter

218.609-221.2230.81.2-

Commodities less food

136.894-142.638-0.14.2-

Nondurables

200.775-206.364-0.22.8-

Nondurables less food

160.559-170.7940.66.4-

Services less rent of shelter (2)

318.958-318.6052.1-0.1-

Services less medical care services

252.305-252.9483.10.3-

Energy

172.029181.627190.192-4.810.64.7

All items less energy

226.626-227.1882.60.2-

All items less food and energy

221.630-222.4533.20.4-

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.
 

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, May 17, 2016