Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

News Release Information

20-437-ATL
Wednesday, March 11, 2020

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

Consumer Price Index, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach – February 2020

Area prices rose 0.4 percent from December to February; up 1.4 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach rose 0.4 percent from December to February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the all items less food and energy index increased 0.7 percent over the bi-monthly period. Since December, the food index rose 0.7 percent, while the energy index fell 2.8 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

From February 2019 to February 2020, the all items CPI-U increased 1.4 percent. Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.6 percent. The energy index rose 1.5 percent over the past 12 months, while the food index inched up 0.1 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index rose 0.7 percent from December to February, reflecting increases in the food away from home (1.1 percent) and the food at home (0.4 percent) indexes. 

The food index inched up 0.1 percent for the 12 months ending February. The food at home index declined 1.5 percent over the last 12 months, while the food away from home index increased 2.4 percent.  

Energy

The energy index fell 2.8 percent from December to February, reflecting declines in the electricity and gasoline indexes, down 3.5 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively. The utility (piped) gas service index rose 1.7 percent over the bi-monthly period.

Since February 2019, the energy index rose 1.5 percent, the result of a 6.4-percent increase in the gasoline index. The electricity index fell 4.0 percent over the past 12 months.  

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.7 percent from December to February, led by a 0.7-percent increase in the shelter index.

From February 2019 to February 2020, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.6 percent. Several indexes increased over the year including shelter (0.9 percent), medical care (3.7 percent), and apparel (10.0 percent).

Table A. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month20162017201820192020
2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month

February

0.21.61.34.02.63.21.01.20.41.4

April

0.71.4-0.52.8-0.13.50.82.2

June

0.61.6-0.22.00.54.2-0.51.2

August

0.01.60.32.3-0.33.60.41.9

October

0.51.91.02.70.83.40.41.5

December

0.82.9-0.11.8-0.62.9-0.22.0

The Consumer Price Index for March 2020 is scheduled to be released on Friday, April 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 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

IndexesPercent change from-
Dec.
2019
Jan.
2020
Feb.
2020
Feb.
2019
Dec.
2019
Jan.
2020

Expenditure category

All Items

270.918-272.0441.40.4-

All items (November 1977=100)

436.682-438.497---

Food and beverages

263.978-266.6070.41.0-

Food

265.870-267.7860.10.7-

Food at home

250.513251.465251.629-1.50.40.1

Cereals and bakery products

281.170-284.3371.81.1-

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

237.558-234.939-3.7-1.1-

Dairy and related products

224.407-225.7720.50.6-

Fruits and vegetables

332.475-334.856-2.60.7-

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

236.703-238.581-3.30.8-

Other food at home

207.998-211.1060.31.5-

Food away from home

292.916-296.0992.41.1-

Alcoholic beverages

238.679-249.1073.64.4-

Housing

286.638-287.3850.80.3-

Shelter

329.372332.410331.6280.90.7-0.2

Rent of primary residence

322.307323.490323.2251.40.3-0.1

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)

332.369333.128332.7811.70.1-0.1

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)

332.369333.128332.7811.70.1-0.1

Fuels and utilities

181.686-177.066-1.9-2.5-

Household energy

153.253148.123148.036-3.9-3.4-0.1

Energy services

150.450145.325145.372-3.9-3.40.0

Electricity

147.442142.260142.307-4.0-3.50.0

Utility (piped) gas service

181.002184.039184.039-1.70.0

Household furnishings and operations

169.339-167.3773.0-1.2-

Apparel

140.030-144.66410.03.3-

Transportation

221.683-222.4561.90.3-

Private transportation

226.498-225.7201.1-0.3-

New and used motor vehicles(3)

114.821-115.267-2.50.4-

New vehicles(1)

235.900-233.821-0.8-0.9-

Used cars and trucks(1)

292.350-292.386-1.50.0-

Motor fuel

224.746226.195219.4606.4-2.4-3.0

Gasoline (all types)

222.011223.433216.7416.4-2.4-3.0

Unleaded regular(4)

218.052219.844212.7006.7-2.5-3.2

Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

224.558224.209220.8546.3-1.6-1.5

Unleaded premium(4)

244.493242.708240.0234.4-1.8-1.1

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

889.670-894.0550.70.5-

Medical Care

570.315-573.1663.70.5-

Recreation(3)

121.817-121.6180.5-0.2-

Education and communication(3)

123.070-123.6712.70.5-

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

1,012.806-1,015.4362.10.3-

Other goods and services

362.685-359.879-0.6-0.8-

Commodity and service group

All Items

270.918-272.0441.40.4-

Commodities

204.066-204.2571.40.1-

Commodities less food & beverages

168.010-167.2732.5-0.4-

Nondurables less food & beverages

201.391-201.3544.40.0-

Durables

131.946-130.635-0.7-1.0-

Services

321.918-323.7001.40.6-

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

258.250-259.3031.20.4-

All items less shelter

240.106-240.6331.70.2-

Commodities less food

170.744-170.3452.5-0.2-

Nondurables

234.893-236.0622.10.5-

Nondurables less food

203.756-204.3674.30.3-

Services less rent of shelter(2)

319.562-320.6651.90.3-

Services less medical care services

303.467-305.2231.00.6-

Energy

185.368183.218180.1271.5-2.8-1.7

All items less energy

280.544-282.3931.40.7-

All items less food and energy

282.946-284.7901.60.7-

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.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2020