The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Miami inched down 0.1 percent over the November-December pricing period, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that a 2.0 percent decline in the energy index contributed to the overall decrease. The all items less food and energy index and the food index each inched up 0.1 percent over the two month 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 CPI-U rose 1.8 percent. The all items less food and energy index increased 1.2 percent and the energy index advanced 8.3 percent over the year. The food index was up 2.0 percent since December 2016. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index inched up 0.1 percent during the November-December pricing period, reflecting a 0.2-percent increase in the food at home index. The food away from home index inched down 0.1 percent over the two month pricing period.

Since December 2016, the food index rose 2.0 percent, as price increases were noted for both food at home (1.9 percent) and for food away from home (2.2 percent).

Energy

The energy index was down 2.0 percent during the two month pricing period, largely due to a 3.7-percent decline in motor fuel prices. Prices for electricity and for utility (piped) gas service were unchanged over the two months.

Over the year, the energy index advanced 8.3 percent, reflecting price increases for electricity and motor fuel, up 9.8 and 7.4 percent, respectively. Since December 2016, prices for utility (piped) gas service declined 2.7 percent.

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. Price increases for shelter (0.4 percent) and education and communication (0.5 percent) were largely offset by price decreases for apparel (-6.3 percent) and recreation (-1.0 percent).

Since December 2016, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.2 percent, led by a 3.6 percent increase in the shelter index. In contrast, the education and communication index declined 3.1 percent.

 

Table A. Miami 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	1.5	1.9	1.2	1.6	0.3	0.4	0.2	1.6	1.3	4.0
April	-0.2	0.9	0.7	2.5	0.8	0.5	0.7	1.4	-0.5	2.8
June	-0.1	1.6	-0.3	2.4	0.4	1.2	0.6	1.6	-0.2	2.0
August	-0.2	0.6	-0.1	2.4	0.0	1.3	0.0	1.6	0.3	2.3
October	0.6	0.9	0.4	2.2	0.2	1.1	0.5	1.9	1.0	2.7
December	0.2	1.9	-0.6	1.4	-0.1	1.6	0.8	2.9	-0.1	1.8

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 Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Fla. consolidated area covered in this release is comprised of Broward and Miami-Dade Counties in Florida.

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
Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL (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	258.456	-	258.238	1.8	-0.1	-
All items (November 1977=100)	416.595	-	416.243	-	-	-
Food and beverages	261.849	-	262.833	2.2	0.4	-
Food	264.613	-	264.858	2.0	0.1	-
Food at home	254.458	253.823	255.014	1.9	0.2	0.5
Food away from home	283.585	-	283.356	2.2	-0.1	-
Alcoholic beverages	224.445	-	235.877	4.4	5.1	-
Housing	270.046	-	270.748	3.9	0.3	-
Shelter	308.682	309.682	309.819	3.6	0.4	0.0
Rent of primary residence(1)	302.409	303.151	302.978	3.3	0.2	-0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)	310.195	310.980	311.484	4.1	0.4	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	310.195	310.980	311.484	4.1	0.4	0.2
Fuels and utilities	177.897	-	177.970	8.3	0.0	-
Household energy	152.318	152.354	152.400	9.2	0.1	0.0
Energy services(1)	149.468	149.467	149.468	9.3	0.0	0.0
Electricity(1)	146.340	146.340	146.340	9.8	0.0	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	190.949	190.925	190.940	-2.7	0.0	0.0
Household furnishings and operations	162.353	-	160.990	1.2	-0.8	-
Apparel	144.808	-	135.727	0.5	-6.3	-
Transportation	214.569	-	213.012	-2.3	-0.7	-
Private transportation	217.449	-	217.021	-2.3	-0.2	-
Motor fuel	231.896	229.404	223.239	7.4	-3.7	-2.7
Gasoline (all types)	229.224	226.748	220.617	7.4	-3.8	-2.7
Unleaded regular(3)	225.783	223.507	216.993	7.4	-3.9	-2.9
Unleaded midgrade(3)(4)	226.965	222.653	219.943	7.4	-3.1	-1.2
Unleaded premium(3)	247.269	243.598	240.612	7.8	-2.7	-1.2
Medical Care	505.431	-	506.044	0.3	0.1	-
Recreation(5)	118.518	-	117.315	1.0	-1.0	-
Education and communication(5)	120.372	-	120.965	-3.1	0.5	-
Other goods and services	348.494	-	349.459	1.6	0.3	-
Commodity and service group
All Items	258.456	-	258.238	1.8	-0.1	-
Commodities	204.613	-	203.045	1.3	-0.8	-
Commodities less food & beverages	169.967	-	167.080	0.6	-1.7	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	205.979	-	200.904	1.8	-2.5	-
Durables	130.427	-	130.431	-2.0	0.0	-
Services	300.011	-	300.720	2.1	0.2	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	247.905	-	247.660	1.9	-0.1	-
All items less shelter	231.947	-	231.002	0.6	-0.4	-
Commodities less food	172.153	-	169.745	0.8	-1.4	-
Nondurables	236.264	-	234.078	2.0	-0.9	-
Nondurables less food	207.244	-	203.121	2.0	-2.0	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	295.302	-	295.385	-0.4	0.0	-
Services less medical care services	285.898	-	286.697	2.1	0.3	-
Energy	187.893	186.844	184.222	8.3	-2.0	-1.4
All items less energy	266.363	-	266.568	1.3	0.1	-
All items less food and energy	266.556	-	266.753	1.2	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 November 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.