The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach increased 0.8 percent from February to April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the energy index contributed to the increase, up 11.0 percent since February. The all items less food and energy index inched up 0.1 percent, while the food index was unchanged over the bi-monthly period. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the all items CPI-U increased 2.2 percent. Since April 2018, the all items less food and energy index advanced 2.6 percent, while the energy index rose 1.5 percent and the food index edged up 0.3 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index was unchanged over the bi-monthly period. Since February, the food away from home index was up 0.6 percent, while the food at home index was down 0.4 percent.  

The food index edged up 0.3 percent from April 2018 to April 2019, reflecting a 1.5-percent increase in the food away from home index. The food at home index declined 0.5 percent over the last 12 months.  

Energy

The energy index advanced 11.0 percent from February to April, led by a 20.7-percent jump in the gasoline index. The electricity index rose 0.6 percent since February.

Over the year, the energy index rose 1.5 percent, citing increases in the gasoline (1.5 percent) and the electricity (1.6 percent) indexes.  

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy inched up 0.1 percent since February. Increases for several indexes, including apparel (6.1percent), were largely offset by a 0.5-percent decline in the shelter index.

The all items less food and energy index advanced 2.6 percent from April 2018 to April 2019. The shelter index contributed to the over the year increase, up 4.9 percent. In contrast, the apparel index declined 6.4 percent over the last 12 months.

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	2015		2016		2017		2018		2019
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	0.3	0.4	0.2	1.6	1.3	4.0	2.6	3.2	1.0	1.2
April	0.8	0.5	0.7	1.4	-0.5	2.8	-0.1	3.5	0.8	2.2
June	0.4	1.2	0.6	1.6	-0.2	2.0	0.5	4.2
August	0.0	1.3	0.0	1.6	0.3	2.3	-0.3	3.6
October	0.2	1.1	0.5	1.9	1.0	2.7	0.8	3.4
December	-0.1	1.6	0.8	2.9	-0.1	1.8	-0.6	2.9

The Consumer Price Index for May 2019 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 12, 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-
	Feb. 2019	Mar. 2019	Apr. 2019	Apr. 2018	Feb. 2019	Mar. 2019
Expenditure category
All Items	268.288	-	270.553	2.2	0.8	-
All items (November 1977=100)	432.443	-	436.094	-	-	-
Food and beverages	265.557	-	265.835	0.6	0.1	-
Food	267.441	-	267.489	0.3	0.0	-
Food at home	255.469	257.378	254.366	-0.5	-0.4	-1.2
Cereals and bakery products	279.284	-	282.542	3.0	1.2	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	243.974	-	241.163	-2.0	-1.2	-
Dairy and related products	224.565	-	228.997	6.1	2.0	-
Fruits and vegetables	343.836	-	329.326	-5.3	-4.2	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	246.628	-	251.751	1.5	2.1	-
Other food at home	210.438	-	210.510	-0.8	0.0	-
Food away from home	289.267	-	291.096	1.5	0.6	-
Alcoholic beverages	240.338	-	243.489	4.7	1.3	-
Housing	285.079	-	283.920	4.4	-0.4	-
Shelter	328.550	327.499	326.786	4.9	-0.5	-0.2
Rent of primary residence	318.861	320.204	321.141	4.9	0.7	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)	327.215	328.620	329.259	5.1	0.6	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)	327.215	328.620	329.259	5.1	0.6	0.2
Fuels and utilities	180.464	-	181.321	1.6	0.5	-
Household energy	154.028	154.046	154.959	1.4	0.6	0.6
Energy services	151.281	151.275	152.132	1.5	0.6	0.6
Electricity	148.216	148.231	149.118	1.6	0.6	0.6
Utility (piped) gas service	-	-	-	-	-	-
Household furnishings and operations	162.498	-	162.762	1.7	0.2	-
Apparel	131.477	-	139.516	-6.4	6.1	-
Transportation	218.340	-	229.752	0.8	5.2	-
Private transportation	223.189	-	234.868	0.9	5.2	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	118.224	-	117.997	1.5	-0.2	-
New vehicles(1)	235.765	-	235.535	3.5	-0.1	-
Used vehicles(1)	296.939	-	297.724	1.1	0.3	-
Motor fuel	206.282	230.630	248.707	1.5	20.6	7.8
Gasoline (all types)	203.637	227.806	245.821	1.5	20.7	7.9
Unleaded regular(4)	199.385	224.135	242.670	1.5	21.7	8.3
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	207.753	225.795	240.009	2.0	15.5	6.3
Unleaded premium(4)	229.891	248.193	261.083	1.6	13.6	5.2
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	887.757	-	879.055	-1.1	-1.0	-
Medical Care	552.978	-	554.785	-0.7	0.3	-
Recreation(3)	121.033	-	122.304	1.8	1.1	-
Education and communication(3)	120.437	-	120.861	1.0	0.4	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	994.670	-	994.670	4.2	0.0	-
Other goods and services	362.061	-	362.153	2.5	0.0	-
Commodity and service group
All Items	268.288	-	270.553	2.2	0.8	-
Commodities	201.348	-	207.351	-0.2	3.0	-
Commodities less food & beverages	163.199	-	171.922	-0.8	5.3	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	192.864	-	208.336	-2.0	8.0	-
Durables	131.610	-	132.204	1.6	0.5	-
Services	319.323	-	318.927	3.4	-0.1	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	256.213	-	258.490	2.5	0.9	-
All items less shelter	236.549	-	240.888	0.4	1.8	-
Commodities less food	166.162	-	174.692	-0.6	5.1	-
Nondurables	231.162	-	239.463	-0.6	3.6	-
Nondurables less food	195.884	-	210.563	-1.5	7.5	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	314.783	-	316.407	1.4	0.5	-
Services less medical care services	302.053	-	301.433	3.6	-0.2	-
Energy	177.541	188.438	197.027	1.5	11.0	4.6
All items less energy	278.497	-	278.830	2.3	0.1	-
All items less food and energy	280.280	-	280.661	2.6	0.1	-
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.