The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach decreased 0.6 percent over the November-December pricing period, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the energy index declined 8.6 percent and the all items less food and energy index edged down 0.2 percent over the two-month pricing period. The food index increased 1.5 percent over the two months. (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 2.9 percent. The all items less food and energy index moved up 3.6 percent and the food index rose 1.2 percent over the year. The energy index declined 2.1 percent since December 2017. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index rose 1.5 percent over the November-December pricing period, led by a 1.9-percent increase in the food at home index. The food away from home index increased 1.0 percent since October.

Since December 2017, the food index rose 1.2 percent, reflecting increases in the food away from home (1.9 percent) and the food at home (0.7 percent) indexes.  

Energy

The energy index fell 8.6 percent over the November-December pricing period, led by a 15.0-percent decline in the gasoline index. The electricity index was unchanged over the two months.

Over the year, the energy index decreased 2.1 percent, fueled by a 3.2-percent decline in the gasoline index. The electricity index was down 0.7 percent from December 2017.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged down 0.2 percent over the November-December pricing period. Decreases in the apparel (-7.9 percent), education and communication (-2.2 percent), and medical care (-1.1 percent) indexes were largely offset by increases in the shelter (1.0 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (2.5 percent) indexes.  

From December 2017 to December 2018, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.6 percent. The indexes for shelter (4.1 percent), medical care (9.0 percent), and motor vehicle insurance (22.6 percent) contributed to the increase.

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	0.5	4.2
August	-0.1	2.4	0.0	1.3	0.0	1.6	0.3	2.3	-0.3	3.6
October	0.4	2.2	0.2	1.1	0.5	1.9	1.0	2.7	0.8	3.4
December	-0.6	1.4	-0.1	1.6	0.8	2.9	-0.1	1.8	-0.6	2.9

The Consumer Price Index for January 2019 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, February 13, 2019.

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-
	Oct. 2018	Nov. 2018	Dec. 2018	Dec. 2017	Oct. 2018	Nov. 2018
Expenditure category
All Items	267.280	-	265.731	2.9	-0.6	-
All items (November 1977=100)	430.818	-	428.321	-	-	-
Food and beverages	262.282	-	265.357	1.0	1.2	-
Food	263.976	-	268.006	1.2	1.5	-
Food at home	251.858	252.424	256.701	0.7	1.9	1.7
Cereals and bakery products	266.160	-	285.679	5.3	7.3	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	245.621	-	243.058	-1.9	-1.0	-
Dairy and related products	215.040	-	221.978	1.1	3.2	-
Fruits and vegetables	347.892	-	344.625	1.9	-0.9	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	230.868	-	252.935	0.3	9.6	-
Other food at home	211.218	-	210.362	-0.1	-0.4	-
Food away from home	285.983	-	288.804	1.9	1.0	-
Alcoholic beverages	239.459	-	230.618	-2.2	-3.7	-
Housing	277.971	-	279.948	3.4	0.7	-
Shelter	319.132	321.230	322.391	4.1	1.0	0.4
Rent of primary residence	311.977	313.295	313.730	3.5	0.6	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)	321.697	323.465	324.128	4.1	0.8	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)	321.697	323.465	324.128	4.1	0.8	0.2
Fuels and utilities	177.863	-	177.737	-0.1	-0.1	-
Household energy	151.202	151.141	151.065	-0.9	-0.1	-0.1
Energy services	148.355	148.322	148.332	-0.8	0.0	0.0
Electricity	145.326	145.302	145.294	-0.7	0.0	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service	-	-	-	-	-	-
Household furnishings and operations	164.110	-	160.548	-0.3	-2.2	-
Apparel	143.474	-	132.190	-2.6	-7.9	-
Transportation	229.165	-	219.739	3.2	-4.1	-
Private transportation	234.781	-	226.257	4.3	-3.6	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	116.154	-	119.037	2.8	2.5	-
New vehicles(1)	228.168	-	234.159	2.9	2.6	-
Used vehicles(1)	291.395	-	294.739	2.0	1.1	-
Motor fuel	254.019	235.770	216.256	-3.1	-14.9	-8.3
Gasoline (all types)	250.999	232.823	213.469	-3.2	-15.0	-8.3
Unleaded regular(4)	247.681	228.630	209.324	-3.5	-15.5	-8.4
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	244.719	234.514	215.568	-2.0	-11.9	-8.1
Unleaded premium(4)	267.583	257.016	238.446	-0.9	-10.9	-7.2
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	882.122	-	882.122	22.6	0.0	-
Medical Care	557.714	-	551.537	9.0	-1.1	-
Recreation(3)	119.893	-	119.898	2.2	0.0	-
Education and communication(3)	121.018	-	118.304	-2.2	-2.2	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	978.856	-	978.856	2.4	0.0	-
Other goods and services	358.934	-	358.141	2.5	-0.2	-
Commodity and service group
All Items	267.280	-	265.731	2.9	-0.6	-
Commodities	207.407	-	201.958	-0.5	-2.6	-
Commodities less food & beverages	173.798	-	164.201	-1.7	-5.5	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	213.666	-	195.379	-2.8	-8.6	-
Durables	129.833	-	130.758	0.3	0.7	-
Services	313.225	-	314.462	4.6	0.4	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	254.978	-	253.618	2.4	-0.5	-
All items less shelter	239.882	-	235.857	2.1	-1.7	-
Commodities less food	176.356	-	166.777	-1.7	-5.4	-
Nondurables	240.545	-	232.391	-0.7	-3.4	-
Nondurables less food	215.291	-	197.613	-2.7	-8.2	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	313.464	-	311.755	5.5	-0.5	-
Services less medical care services	295.934	-	297.140	3.6	0.4	-
Energy	197.322	189.128	180.360	-2.1	-8.6	-4.6
All items less energy	275.155	-	275.336	3.3	0.1	-
All items less food and energy	276.961	-	276.482	3.6	-0.2	-
Footnotes (1) Index is on a November 1977=100 base. (2) Index is on a November 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) 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.