The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Atlanta declined 0.4 percent over the November-December pricing period, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that a 5.4-percent drop in the energy index contributed to the overall decrease. Over the two-month pricing period, the food index edged down 0.2 percent, while the all items less food and energy index inched up 0.1 percent. (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 3.2 percent. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.7 percent over the year. Since December 2016, the food index rose 1.5 percent and the energy index increased 2.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

Food prices edged down 0.2 percent during the November-December pricing period, reflecting price decreases for food at home (-0.3 percent) and for food away from home (-0.2 percent).

Over the year, the food index rose 1.5 percent, led by a 2.4-percent increase in the food away from home index. The food at home index also increased, up 0.8 percent since December 2016.

Energy

The energy index declined 5.4 percent over the two-month pricing period, fueled by a 7.0-percent drop in motor fuel prices and a 5.8 percent decline in electricity prices. Prices for utility (piped) gas service rose 1.3 percent over the November-December pricing period.

Over the year, the energy index advanced 2.4 percent, reflecting price increases for motor fuel (4.5 percent) and utility (piped) gas service (5.1 percent). Electricity prices declined 1.7 percent since December 2016.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy inched up 0.1 percent during the November-December pricing period. Over the two months, a 1.0-percent increase in the shelter index was largely offset by a seasonal decline in the apparel index (-9.2 percent).

From December 2016 to December 2017, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.7 percent, led by a 5.3-percent increase in the shelter index.

 

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

Month	2013		2014		2015		2016		2017
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	1.9	2.1	1.3	1.8	0.0	-0.3	0.3	1.6	1.2	3.5
April	0.1	1.1	0.8	2.5	0.7	-0.5	1.0	1.9	0.6	3.2
June	1.0	1.4	1.5	3.0	2.5	0.6	1.3	0.7	1.3	3.2
August	0.7	1.5	-0.1	2.2	-0.1	0.6	0.5	1.2	0.8	3.5
October	-1.0	1.6	-1.1	2.2	-1.2	0.5	-0.1	2.4	-0.3	3.2
December	-0.2	2.4	-1.5	0.9	-0.6	1.4	-0.4	2.6	-0.4	3.2

The Consumer Price Index for January 2018 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, February 14, 2018.

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-
	Oct. 2017	Nov. 2017	Dec. 2017	Dec. 2016	Oct. 2017	Nov. 2017
Expenditure category
All Items	235.030	-	234.107	3.2	-0.4	-
All items (1967=100)	708.779	-	705.995	-	-	-
Food and beverages	253.382	-	252.705	1.7	-0.3	-
Food	263.687	-	263.056	1.5	-0.2	-
Food at home	245.630	243.435	244.874	0.8	-0.3	0.6
Food away from home	292.714	-	292.265	2.4	-0.2	-
Alcoholic beverages	161.401	-	160.317	4.2	-0.7	-
Housing	235.165	-	235.883	4.1	0.3	-
Shelter	259.710	261.193	262.188	5.3	1.0	0.4
Rent of primary residence(1)	265.808	266.278	267.237	4.9	0.5	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)	255.110	256.337	257.708	5.8	1.0	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	255.110	256.337	257.708	5.8	1.0	0.5
Fuels and utilities	279.875	-	272.493	0.6	-2.6	-
Household energy	239.206	233.064	230.420	0.4	-3.7	-1.1
Energy Services(1)	237.714	231.259	228.359	0.1	-3.9	-1.3
Electricity(1)	205.948	198.517	193.967	-1.7	-5.8	-2.3
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	276.739	276.114	280.371	5.1	1.3	1.5
Household furnishings and operations	121.149	-	118.677	-3.6	-2.0	-
Apparel	141.433	-	128.454	-5.9	-9.2	-
Transportation	206.054	-	205.467	8.6	-0.3	-
Private transportation	205.555	-	206.157	9.5	0.3	-
Motor fuel	222.322	214.906	206.712	4.5	-7.0	-3.8
Gasoline (all types)	220.912	213.446	205.194	4.4	-7.1	-3.9
Unleaded regular(3)	215.725	208.462	200.192	3.9	-7.2	-4.0
Unleaded midgrade(3)(4)	278.904	269.214	260.448	6.3	-6.6	-3.3
Unleaded premium(3)	245.120	236.621	229.209	7.6	-6.5	-3.1
Medical Care	452.853	-	451.326	2.3	-0.3	-
Recreation(5)	85.813	-	84.555	-0.4	-1.5	-
Education and communication(5)	132.964	-	132.309	-1.5	-0.5	-
Other goods and services	375.858	-	374.219	2.0	-0.4	-
Commodity and service group
All Items	235.030	-	234.107	3.2	-0.4	-
Commodities	178.451	-	175.890	0.5	-1.4	-
Commodities less food & beverages	144.966	-	141.641	-0.4	-2.3	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	182.506	-	173.109	-0.9	-5.1	-
Durables	106.227	-	108.988	0.5	2.6	-
Services	288.233	-	288.724	4.8	0.2	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	223.469	-	222.579	3.3	-0.4	-
All items less shelter	228.802	-	226.275	2.2	-1.1	-
Commodities less food	145.218	-	141.994	-0.2	-2.2	-
Nondurables	213.128	-	207.751	0.5	-2.5	-
Nondurables less food	179.658	-	170.967	-0.6	-4.8	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	336.343	-	333.765	4.1	-0.8	-
Services less medical care services	270.840	-	271.470	5.0	0.2	-
Energy	210.142	203.926	198.847	2.4	-5.4	-2.5
All items less energy	237.524	-	237.638	3.3	0.0	-
All items less food and energy	233.846	-	234.078	3.7	0.1	-
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.
- Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.