The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell declined 1.8 percent from February to April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the energy index fell 14.7 percent since February, while the index for all items less food and energy declined 1.2 percent over the bi-monthly period. In contrast, the food index increased 2.4 percent from February to April. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The all items CPI-U edged down 0.3 percent for the 12 months ending April, reflecting a 20.8-percent drop in the energy index. The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.1 percent over the last 12 months, while the food index advanced 4.8 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index increased 2.4 percent from February to April, led by a 4.7-percent jump in the food at home index. The food away from home index increased slightly over the bi-monthly period, up 0.1 percent.

The food index advanced 4.8 percent for the 12 months ending April, reflecting increases in the food at home (5.9 percent) and food away from home (3.7 percent) indexes.

Energy

The energy index declined 14.7 percent from February to April, led by a 30.1-percent drop in the gasoline index. The electricity index was unchanged over the bi-monthly period.

The energy index fell 20.8 percent for the 12 months ending April, reflecting a 41.6-percent fall in the gasoline index. In contrast, the electricity index increased 6.0 percent over the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy fell 1.2 percent from February to April, led by declines in the shelter (-0.9 percent), apparel (-8.0 percent), and motor vehicles insurance (-11.5 percent) indexes.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.1 percent for the 12 months ending April. Several indexes contributed to the increase, most notably shelter (3.1 percent) and medical care (9.4 percent). Apparel (-12.3 percent) was among the indexes to decline over the past year.  

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

Month	2016		2017		2018		2019		2020
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	0.3	1.6	1.2	3.5	1.2	3.3	1.2	1.3	0.8	2.9
April	1.0	1.9	0.6	3.2	0.2	2.8	1.4	2.5	-1.8	-0.3
June	1.3	0.7	1.3	3.2	1.2	2.8	-0.1	1.1
August	0.5	1.2	0.8	3.5	0.3	2.2	1.3	2.2
October	-0.1	2.4	-0.3	3.2	-1.0	1.6	-0.2	3.0
December	-0.4	2.6	-0.4	3.2	-0.6	1.4	-0.3	3.3

The Consumer Price Index for May 2020 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 10, 2020.

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-
	Feb. 2020	Mar. 2020	Apr. 2020	Apr. 2019	Feb. 2020	Mar. 2020
Expenditure category
All Items	247.042	-	242.617	-0.3	-1.8	-
All items (1967=100)	745.002	-	731.660	-	-	-
Food and beverages	262.629	-	265.999	3.6	1.3	-
Food	273.353	-	279.825	4.8	2.4	-
Food at home	248.498	249.426	260.094	5.9	4.7	4.3
Cereals and bakery products	218.983	-	231.158	5.1	5.6	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	278.490	-	291.946	5.7	4.8	-
Dairy and related products	240.908	-	246.472	8.8	2.3	-
Fruits and vegetables	289.316	-	303.435	-0.3	4.9	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	255.094	-	266.588	5.5	4.5	-
Other food at home	211.272	-	221.658	10.5	4.9	-
Food away from home	312.214	-	312.386	3.7	0.1	-
Alcoholic beverages	166.536	-	144.727	-12.1	-13.1	-
Housing	258.178	-	257.102	2.8	-0.4	-
Shelter	288.071	286.852	285.609	3.1	-0.9	-0.4
Rent of primary residence	297.566	297.805	297.520	4.0	0.0	-0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)	280.802	281.181	280.676	3.8	0.0	-0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)	280.802	281.181	280.676	3.8	0.0	-0.2
Fuels and utilities	299.823	-	298.963	2.7	-0.3	-
Household energy	256.907	256.521	255.963	3.3	-0.4	-0.2
Energy Services	255.266	254.900	254.475	3.4	-0.3	-0.2
Electricity	219.919	219.919	219.919	6.0	0.0	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service	-	-	-	-	-	-
Household furnishings and operations	125.380	-	128.538	1.0	2.5	-
Apparel	140.572	-	129.325	-12.3	-8.0	-
Transportation	203.397	-	182.460	-13.8	-10.3	-
Private transportation	202.565	-	182.689	-13.8	-9.8	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	100.825	-	99.608	-3.2	-1.2	-
New vehicles(1)	210.661	-	208.022	-3.1	-1.3	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	208.694	-	212.434	0.0	1.8	-
Motor fuel	200.602	181.781	140.647	-41.3	-29.9	-22.6
Gasoline (all types)	199.016	180.251	139.161	-41.6	-30.1	-22.8
Unleaded regular(4)	194.139	175.318	134.477	-42.3	-30.7	-23.3
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	253.718	230.475	186.928	-37.2	-26.3	-18.9
Unleaded premium(4)	222.194	206.234	166.609	-35.6	-25.0	-19.2
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	1,236.984	-	1,094.539	-7.0	-11.5	-
Medical Care	483.091	-	489.521	9.4	1.3	-
Recreation(3)	84.377	-	86.497	1.2	2.5	-
Education and communication(3)	137.631	-	137.143	1.2	-0.4	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,461.227	-	1,461.227	2.7	0.0	-
Other goods and services	398.952	-	396.498	4.7	-0.6	-
Commodity and service group
All Items	247.042	-	242.617	-0.3	-1.8	-
Commodities	178.685	-	173.465	-4.7	-2.9	-
Commodities less food & beverages	142.162	-	134.319	-9.2	-5.5	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	181.835	-	162.944	-14.9	-10.4	-
Durables	104.252	-	104.466	-2.3	0.2	-
Services	311.577	-	308.101	2.3	-1.1	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	234.643	-	229.747	-1.1	-2.1	-
All items less shelter	233.929	-	228.658	-2.0	-2.3	-
Commodities less food	142.648	-	134.330	-9.4	-5.8	-
Nondurables	217.070	-	208.032	-5.6	-4.2	-
Nondurables less food	179.543	-	160.530	-14.8	-10.6	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	352.620	-	347.770	1.5	-1.4	-
Services less medical care services	294.235	-	290.335	1.7	-1.3	-
Energy	207.382	197.793	176.956	-20.8	-14.7	-10.5
All items less energy	250.978	-	249.182	1.6	-0.7	-
All items less food and energy	247.878	-	244.821	1.1	-1.2	-
Footnotes (1) Index is on a December 1977=100 base. (2) Index is on a December 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.