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News Release Information

20-2137-ATL
Thursday, November 12, 2020

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

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

Area prices up 1.0 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach rose 0.1 percent from August to October, 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 edged up 0.3 percent over the bi-monthly period, while the energy index rose 0.8 percent. The food index declined 1.3 percent from August to October. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The all items CPI-U rose 1.0 percent for the 12 months ending in October. The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.1 percent over the past year, while the food index advanced 6.9 percent. In contrast, the energy index fell 8.5 percent over the past 12 months. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index declined 1.3 percent from August to October, reflecting a 2.4-percent decrease in the food at home index. The food away from home index rose 0.2 percent over the bi-monthly period.

The food index advanced 6.9 percent for the 12 months ending in October, led by a 10.3-percent jump in the food at home index. The food away from home index also increased over the past 12 months, up 2.3 percent.  

Energy

The energy index rose 0.8 percent from August to October, reflecting a 1.5-percent increase in the gasoline index. In contrast, the utility (piped) gas service index edged down 0.3 percent over the bi-monthly period. The electricity index was unchanged from August to October.

The energy index fell 8.5 percent for the 12 months ending in October, led by a 12.7-percent decline in the gasoline index. The electricity index also declined, down 3.3 percent over the past 12 months.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent from August to October, led by increases in the shelter (0.7 percent) and apparel (5.4 percent) indexes. Medical care (-1.2 percent) was among the indexes to decline over the bi-monthly period.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.1 percent for the 12 months ending in October, reflecting a 2.0-percent increase in the shelter index. The used cars and trucks index jumped 11.0 percent over the past 12 months, while the medical care index increased 2.2 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

0.71.4-0.52.8-0.13.50.82.2-1.0-0.5

June

0.61.6-0.22.00.54.2-0.51.20.70.7

August

0.01.60.32.3-0.33.60.41.91.01.4

October

0.51.91.02.70.83.40.41.50.11.0

December

0.82.9-0.11.8-0.62.9-0.22.0

The Consumer Price Index for November 2020 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, December 10, 2020.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on October 2020 Consumer Price Index Data

Data collection by personal visit for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) program has been suspended since March 16, 2020. When possible, data normally collected by personal visit were collected either online or by phone. Additionally, data collection in October was affected by the temporary closing or limited operations of certain types of establishments. These factors resulted in an increase in the number of prices considered temporarily unavailable and imputed. While the CPI program attempted to collect as much data as possible, many indexes are based on smaller amounts of collected prices than usual, and a small number of indexes that are normally published were not published this month. Additional information is available at www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-consumer-price-index.htm.


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-
Aug.
2020
Sep.
2020
Oct.
2020
Oct.
2019
Aug.
2020
Sep.
2020

Expenditure category

All Items

273.861-274.1931.00.1-

All items (November 1977=100)

441.426-441.961---

Food and beverages

285.510-282.2176.8-1.2-

Food

288.738-284.8966.9-1.3-

Food at home

284.679277.117277.94010.3-2.40.3

Cereals and bakery products

327.230-322.94815.8-1.3-

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

284.778-267.48711.2-6.1-

Dairy and related products

241.893-250.23411.83.4-

Fruits and vegetables

371.230-364.85210.6-1.7-

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

265.190-262.9368.3-0.8-

Other food at home

228.820-223.6466.3-2.3-

Food away from home

298.483-299.1012.30.2-

Alcoholic beverages

245.157-----

Housing

289.733-291.2101.50.5-

Shelter

334.269335.603336.4482.00.70.3

Rent of primary residence

327.722329.145329.5512.10.60.1

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)

339.324340.632341.8692.40.80.4

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)

339.324340.632341.8692.40.80.4

Fuels and utilities

177.301-177.944-2.10.4-

Household energy

148.275148.204148.259-3.30.00.0

Energy services

145.779145.795145.771-3.30.00.0

Electricity

142.735142.735142.735-3.30.00.0

Utility (piped) gas service

182.844183.771182.384--0.3-0.8

Household furnishings and operations

170.217-168.9020.7-0.8-

Apparel

138.784-146.2451.75.4-

Transportation

211.977-211.319-5.0-0.3-

Private transportation

218.766-219.273-2.40.2-

New and used motor vehicles(3)

119.571-118.9214.6-0.5-

New vehicles(1)

232.570-234.2270.90.7-

Used cars and trucks(1)

318.737-327.89411.02.9-

Motor fuel

192.137193.645195.119-12.81.60.8

Gasoline (all types)

189.961191.404192.878-12.71.50.8

Unleaded regular(4)

185.963187.314188.774-13.01.50.8

Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

195.000197.358199.599-10.72.41.1

Unleaded premium(4)

214.486216.525217.873-10.51.60.6

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

806.792-816.803-6.71.2-

Medical Care

586.074-578.9072.2-1.2-

Recreation(3)

124.891-124.8722.30.0-

Education and communication(3)

122.862-123.3470.30.4-

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

1,022.718-1,022.7180.90.0-

Other goods and services

360.261-360.165-1.30.0-

Commodity and service group

All Items

273.861-274.1931.00.1-

Commodities

207.228-207.3871.60.1-

Commodities less food & beverages

164.067-165.511-1.40.9-

Nondurables less food & beverages

191.038-192.950-4.81.0-

Durables

133.717-134.6943.50.7-

Services

324.778-325.2330.80.1-

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

260.661-261.3010.90.2-

All items less shelter

242.014-241.3650.4-0.3-

Commodities less food

167.105-168.595-1.10.9-

Nondurables

238.713-238.3171.1-0.2-

Nondurables less food

194.442-196.410-4.01.0-

Services less rent of shelter(2)

319.529-317.340-1.0-0.7-

Services less medical care services

305.338-306.1790.60.3-

Energy

167.907168.550169.246-8.50.80.4

All items less energy

285.806-286.0231.70.1-

All items less food and energy

285.891-286.6441.10.3-

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: Thursday, November 12, 2020