The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell increased 1.2 percent over the January-February pricing period, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the all items less food and energy index rose 1.1 percent and the energy index advanced 4.7 percent. The food index was unchanged during the January-February 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 advanced 3.3 percent. The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.2 percent over the year. The energy index was up 7.0 percent since February 2017 and the food index was up 1.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index was unchanged during the January-February pricing period. A 0.5-percent decline in the food at home index was largely offset by a 0.5-percent increase in the food away from home index.

The food index was up 1.4 percent since February 2017, led by a 3.2-percent increase in the food away from home index. The food at home index inched up 0.1 percent over the last 12-months.

Energy

The energy index was up 4.7 percent over the two-month pricing period, led by a 6.0-percent increase in the motor fuel index. The indexes for utility (piped) gas service and electricity also increased, up 5.3 and 2.4 percent, respectively.

Over the year, the energy index advanced 7.0 percent. Indexes contributing to the increase included motor fuel (11.3 percent), utility (piped) gas service (8.9 percent), and electricity (0.2 percent).

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.1 percent during the January-February pricing period as increases were recorded for several indexes, most notably apparel (15.5 percent).

From February 2017 to February 2018, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.2 percent, reflecting a 4.7 percent increase in the shelter index.

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

Month	2014		2015		2016		2017		2018
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	1.3	1.8	0.0	-0.3	0.3	1.6	1.2	3.5	1.2	3.3
April	0.8	2.5	0.7	-0.5	1.0	1.9	0.6	3.2
June	1.5	3.0	2.5	0.6	1.3	0.7	1.3	3.2
August	-0.1	2.2	-0.1	0.6	0.5	1.2	0.8	3.5
October	-1.1	2.2	-1.2	0.5	-0.1	2.4	-0.3	3.2
December	-1.5	0.9	-0.6	1.4	-0.4	2.6	-0.4	3.2

The Consumer Price Index for March 2018 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 11, 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 93 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 29 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 75 urban areas across the country from about 5,000 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 (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-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA, Core Based Statistical Area covered in this release is comprised of Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Haralson, Heard, Henry, Jasper, Lamar, Meriwether, Morgan, Newton, Paulding, Pickens, Pike, 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-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Dec. 2017	Jan. 2018	Feb. 2018	Feb. 2017	Dec. 2017	Jan. 2018
Expenditure category
All Items	234.107	-	237.000	3.3	1.2	-
All items (1967=100)	705.995	-	714.721	-	-	-
Food and beverages	252.705	-	252.780	1.6	0.0	-
Food	263.056	-	262.968	1.4	0.0	-
Food at home	244.874	245.223	243.699	0.1	-0.5	-0.6
Cereals and bakery products	216.517	-	217.282	-	0.4	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	272.672	-	276.067	-	1.2	-
Dairy and related products	222.371	-	220.510	-	-0.8	-
Fruits and vegetables	298.015	-	284.731	-	-4.5	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	247.020	-	252.102	-	2.1	-
Other food at home	210.086	-	207.851	-	-1.1	-
Food away from home	292.265	-	293.792	3.2	0.5	-
Alcoholic beverages	160.317	-	162.336	5.0	1.3	-
Housing	235.883	-	238.080	3.9	0.9	-
Shelter	262.188	263.164	263.876	4.7	0.6	0.3
Rent of primary residence(2)	267.237	268.112	269.734	4.5	0.9	0.6
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	257.708	258.779	259.310	5.2	0.6	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)(3)	257.708	258.779	259.310	5.2	0.6	0.2
Fuels and utilities	272.493	-	279.479	2.5	2.6	-
Household energy	230.420	234.104	237.839	2.8	3.2	1.6
Energy Services(2)	228.359	232.013	235.940	2.6	3.3	1.7
Electricity(2)	193.967	198.716	198.614	0.2	2.4	-0.1
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	280.371	279.813	295.178	8.9	5.3	5.5
Household furnishings and operations	118.677	-	120.186	-2.3	1.3	-
Apparel	128.454	-	148.405	4.7	15.5	-
Transportation	205.467	-	207.980	8.6	1.2	-
Private transportation	206.157	-	208.116	9.0	1.0	-
New and used motor vehicles(4)	107.991	-	104.668	-	-3.1	-
New vehicles(1)	236.783	-	224.178	-	-5.3	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	206.974	-	208.963	-	1.0	-
Motor fuel	206.712	218.792	219.207	11.3	6.0	0.2
Gasoline (all types)	205.194	217.212	217.574	11.3	6.0	0.2
Unleaded regular(5)	200.192	212.377	212.689	11.1	6.2	0.1
Unleaded midgrade(5)(6)	260.448	273.878	274.495	12.4	5.4	0.2
Unleaded premium(5)	229.209	238.401	239.190	12.7	4.4	0.3
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	1,121.115	-	1,166.517	-	4.0	-
Medical Care	451.326	-	455.512	-0.2	0.9	-
Recreation(4)	84.555	-	85.702	-1.3	1.4	-
Education and communication(4)	132.309	-	130.904	-3.0	-1.1	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,376.088	-	1,360.601	-	-1.1	-
Other goods and services	374.219	-	377.644	2.3	0.9	-
Commodity and service group
All Items	234.107	-	237.000	3.3	1.2	-
Commodities	175.890	-	178.788	1.5	1.6	-
Commodities less food & beverages	141.641	-	145.185	1.0	2.5	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	173.109	-	185.005	4.0	6.9	-
Durables	108.988	-	106.862	-1.5	-2.0	-
Services	288.724	-	291.577	4.2	1.0	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	222.579	-	225.388	3.6	1.3	-
All items less shelter	226.275	-	229.733	2.5	1.5	-
Commodities less food	141.994	-	145.502	1.2	2.5	-
Nondurables	207.751	-	214.759	3.0	3.4	-
Nondurables less food	170.967	-	182.249	4.2	6.6	-
Services less rent of shelter(3)	333.765	-	338.342	3.7	1.4	-
Services less medical care services	271.470	-	274.328	4.7	1.1	-
Energy	198.847	206.485	208.217	7.0	4.7	0.8
All items less energy	237.638	-	239.833	2.9	0.9	-
All items less food and energy	234.078	-	236.588	3.2	1.1	-
Footnotes (1) Index is on a December 1977=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 is on a December 1982=100 base. (4) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (5) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (6) Indexes 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.