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In Chart 1, the Feb. 2018 value for All items less food and energy was corrected to 3.3 percent.

News Release Information

18-767-ATL
Thursday, May 10, 2018

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

Consumer Price Index, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach – April 2018

Area prices down 0.1 percent over the two months; up 3.5 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach was down 0.1 percent over the March-April pricing period, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the index for all items less food and energy declined 0.4 percent, while the food index increased 1.1 percent. The energy index rose 1.4 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 increased 3.5 percent. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.6 percent over the year, and the energy index advanced 5.9 percent. The food index was up 1.9 percent since April 2017. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

  Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL, April 2015–April 2018
Food

The food index rose 1.1 percent over the March-April pricing period, reflecting increases for the food at home and the food away from home indexes, up 1.1-percent each.

Since April 2017, the food index increased 1.9 percent. The index for food at home rose 1.8 percent over the year, and the index for food away from home was up 2.0 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 1.4 percent over the March-April pricing period, reflecting a 2.4-percent increase in the motor fuel index. The electricity index inched up 0.1 percent over the two months.

Over the year, the energy index advanced 5.9 percent, led by a 10.8-percent increase in the motor fuel index. Since April 2017, the electricity index edged up 0.3 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy was down 0.4 percent over the March-April pricing period. Several indexes noted decreases over the two months, including shelter (-0.8 percent) and medical care (-1.6 percent). In contrast, the index for apparel was up 5.1 percent.

From April 2017 to April 2018, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.6 percent. The indexes for shelter and medical care contributed to the increase, up 3.4 and 10.0 percent, respectively.

Table A. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL, 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

1.2 1.6 0.3 0.4 0.2 1.6 1.3 4.0 2.6 3.2

April

0.7 2.5 0.8 0.5 0.7 1.4 -0.5 2.8 -0.1 3.5

June

-0.3 2.4 0.4 1.2 0.6 1.6 -0.2 2.0

August

-0.1 2.4 0.0 1.3 0.0 1.6 0.3 2.3

October

0.4 2.2 0.2 1.1 0.5 1.9 1.0 2.7

December

-0.6 1.4 -0.1 1.6 0.8 2.9 -0.1 1.8

The Consumer Price Index for May 2018 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, June 12, 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 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL, Core Based Statistical Area covered in this release is comprised of Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach 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-West Palm Beach, FL (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

Indexes Percent change from-
Feb.
2018
Mar.
2018
Apr.
2018
Apr.
2017
Feb.
2018
Mar.
2018

Expenditure category

All Items

264.990 - 264.696 3.5 -0.1 -

All items (November 1977=100)

427.127 - 426.653 - - -

Food and beverages

261.149 - 264.167 1.9 1.2 -

Food

263.618 - 266.564 1.9 1.1 -

Food at home

252.883 254.844 255.671 1.8 1.1 0.3

Cereals and bakery products

273.684 - 274.362 - 0.2 -

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

237.273 - 246.093 - 3.7 -

Dairy and related products

221.067 - 215.901 - -2.3 -

Fruits and vegetables

347.162 - 347.874 - 0.2 -

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

247.350 - 248.058 - 0.3 -

Other food at home

209.450 - 212.189 - 1.3 -

Food away from home

283.480 - 286.707 2.0 1.1 -

Alcoholic beverages

228.669 - 232.572 2.4 1.7 -

Housing

273.751 - 271.917 2.9 -0.7 -

Shelter

314.061 313.865 311.477 3.4 -0.8 -0.8

Rent of primary residence(2)

304.513 305.143 306.208 3.5 0.6 0.3

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)

312.622 312.995 313.349 3.5 0.2 0.1

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)(3)

312.622 312.995 313.349 3.5 0.2 0.1

Fuels and utilities

178.329 - 178.410 1.2 0.0 -

Household energy

152.789 153.062 152.877 0.2 0.1 -0.1

Energy services(2)

149.775 150.013 149.873 0.1 0.1 -0.1

Electricity(2)

146.697 146.922 146.808 0.3 0.1 -0.1

Utility (piped) gas service(2)

- - - - - -

Household furnishings and operations

159.469 - 160.012 -1.3 0.3 -

Apparel

141.878 - 149.069 -0.1 5.1 -

Transportation

228.422 - 227.975 7.4 -0.2 -

Private transportation

231.763 - 232.674 8.5 0.4 -

New and used motor vehicles(4)

118.391 - 116.207 - -1.8 -

New vehicles(1)

229.906 - 227.531 - -1.0 -

Used vehicles(1)

291.836 - 294.374 - 0.9 -

Motor fuel

239.172 230.419 244.922 10.8 2.4 6.3

Gasoline (all types)

236.381 227.667 242.080 10.8 2.4 6.3

Unleaded regular(5)

233.216 224.066 239.004 11.0 2.5 6.7

Unleaded midgrade(5)(6)

232.207 227.370 235.329 8.2 1.3 3.5

Unleaded premium(5)

251.825 246.790 257.089 9.3 2.1 4.2

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

871.461 - 888.890 - 2.0 -

Medical Care

568.048 - 558.838 10.0 -1.6 -

Recreation(4)

119.810 - 120.094 -1.8 0.2 -

Education and communication(4)

119.520 - 119.706 -1.4 0.2 -

Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)

954.486 - 954.486 - 0.0 -

Other goods and services

349.841 - 353.212 2.0 1.0 -

Commodity and service group

All Items

264.990 - 264.696 3.5 -0.1 -

Commodities

205.197 - 207.741 1.7 1.2 -

Commodities less food & beverages

171.107 - 173.339 1.4 1.3 -

Nondurables less food & beverages

208.119 - 212.562 3.5 2.1 -

Durables

130.616 - 130.165 -2.5 -0.3 -

Services

310.852 - 308.516 4.4 -0.8 -

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

252.192 - 252.254 3.0 0.0 -

All items less shelter

239.032 - 239.922 3.5 0.4 -

Commodities less food

173.369 - 175.665 1.5 1.3 -

Nondurables

237.066 - 240.881 2.6 1.6 -

Nondurables less food

209.408 - 213.816 3.4 2.1 -

Services less rent of shelter(3)

314.176 - 312.176 5.8 -0.6 -

Services less medical care services

292.945 - 290.862 3.4 -0.7 -

Energy

191.562 187.799 194.182 5.9 1.4 3.4

All items less energy

273.255 - 272.634 3.3 -0.2 -

All items less food and energy

274.796 - 273.565 3.6 -0.4 -

Footnotes
(1) Index is on a November 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 November 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.

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, May 10, 2018