The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell increased 1.6 percent from February to April, 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 rose 1.4 percent since February, while the energy index advanced 6.6 percent. In contrast, the food index edged down 0.2 percent over the bi-monthly period. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The all items CPI-U advanced 6.0 percent for the 12 months ending in April. The index for all items less food and energy increased 5.0 percent over the past year, while the energy index jumped sharply, up 30.0 percent over the last 12 months. The food index declined 0.2 percent over the past year. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index edged down 0.2 percent from February to April, reflecting declines in the food at home (-0.2 percent) and food away from home (-0.1 percent) indexes.

The food index declined 0.2 percent for the 12 months ending in April, led by a 0.5-percent decline in the food at home index. The food away from home index was unchanged over the year.

Energy

The energy index rose 6.6 percent from February to April, reflecting a 14.1-percent increase in the gasoline index. The electricity index was unchanged over the bi-monthly period.

The energy index jumped 30.0 percent for the 12 months ending in April, led by a 70.5-percent spike in the gasoline index. The electricity index also increased over the past year, up 1.8 percent.  

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.4 percent from February to April. Among the indexes to increase over the bi-monthly period include used cars and trucks (12.9 percent) and shelter (1.0 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 5.0 percent for the 12 months ending in April. Several indexes contributed to the increase, most notably shelter (4.0 percent) and used cars and trucks (20.0 percent).

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

Month	2017		2018		2019		2020		2021
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	1.2	3.5	1.2	3.3	1.2	1.3	0.8	2.9	1.6	2.4
April	0.6	3.2	0.2	2.8	1.4	2.5	-1.8	-0.3	1.6	6.0
June	1.3	3.2	1.2	2.8	-0.1	1.1	1.1	0.9
August	0.8	3.5	0.3	2.2	1.3	2.2	1.2	0.7
October	-0.3	3.2	-1.0	1.6	-0.2	3.0	0.3	1.2
December	-0.4	3.2	-0.6	1.4	-0.3	3.3	0.1	1.6

The Consumer Price Index for May 2021 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, June 10, 2021.

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 6,000 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; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000.  Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods available on the internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/.

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. 2021	Mar. 2021	Apr. 2021	Apr. 2020	Feb. 2021	Mar. 2021
Expenditure category
All Items	252.972	-	257.074	6.0	1.6	-
All items (1967=100)	762.886	-	775.257	-	-	-
Food and beverages	266.880	-	266.604	0.2	-0.1	-
Food	279.677	-	279.159	-0.2	-0.2	-
Food at home	259.451	259.446	258.869	-0.5	-0.2	-0.2
Cereals and bakery products	224.593	-	220.704	-4.5	-1.7	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	288.545	-	296.322	1.5	2.7	-
Dairy and related products	248.858	-	237.900	-3.5	-4.4	-
Fruits and vegetables	304.271	-	306.951	1.2	0.9	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	265.546	-	266.113	-0.2	0.2	-
Other food at home	224.443	-	220.790	-0.4	-1.6	-
Food away from home	312.861	-	312.408	0.0	-0.1	-
Alcoholic beverages	153.885	-	155.578	7.5	1.1	-
Housing	264.770	-	267.091	3.9	0.9	-
Shelter	294.193	295.014	297.064	4.0	1.0	0.7
Rent of primary residence	310.509	309.609	310.318	4.3	-0.1	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)	288.956	289.221	290.059	3.3	0.4	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)	288.956	289.221	290.059	3.3	0.4	0.3
Fuels and utilities	310.272	-	308.980	3.4	-0.4	-
Household energy	266.585	266.353	265.149	3.6	-0.5	-0.5
Energy Services	265.069	264.820	263.598	3.6	-0.6	-0.5
Electricity	223.852	223.852	223.852	1.8	0.0	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service	-	-	-	-	-	-
Household furnishings and operations	131.090	-	133.157	3.6	1.6	-
Apparel	144.205	-	140.643	8.8	-2.5	-
Transportation	207.920	-	224.546	23.1	8.0	-
Private transportation	211.048	-	226.491	24.0	7.3	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	106.392	-	-	-	-	-
New vehicles(1)	219.851	-	-	-	-	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	225.694	-	254.892	20.0	12.9	-
Motor fuel	209.429	237.099	238.887	69.8	14.1	0.8
Gasoline (all types)	208.046	235.576	237.337	70.5	14.1	0.7
Unleaded regular(4)	203.580	230.720	232.317	72.8	14.1	0.7
Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	259.786	291.246	296.036	58.4	14.0	1.6
Unleaded premium(4)	227.150	255.807	258.465	55.1	13.8	1.0
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	1,249.058	-	1,285.828	17.5	2.9	-
Medical Care	489.980	-	488.349	-0.2	-0.3	-
Recreation(3)	88.684	-	90.139	4.2	1.6	-
Education and communication(3)	140.869	-	141.018	2.8	0.1	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,509.959	-	1,509.959	3.3	0.0	-
Other goods and services	413.090	-	404.852	2.1	-2.0	-
Commodity and service group
All Items	252.972	-	257.074	6.0	1.6	-
Commodities	183.235	-	187.965	8.4	2.6	-
Commodities less food & beverages	146.596	-	152.774	13.7	4.2	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	184.936	-	192.415	18.1	4.0	-
Durables	109.234	-	114.049	9.2	4.4	-
Services	318.785	-	322.124	4.6	1.0	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	240.492	-	244.833	6.6	1.8	-
All items less shelter	239.863	-	244.515	6.9	1.9	-
Commodities less food	146.463	-	152.465	13.5	4.1	-
Nondurables	220.672	-	224.717	8.0	1.8	-
Nondurables less food	181.366	-	188.338	17.3	3.8	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	361.402	-	365.466	5.1	1.1	-
Services less medical care services	300.452	-	304.141	4.8	1.2	-
Energy	215.830	229.594	229.989	30.0	6.6	0.2
All items less energy	256.652	-	259.737	4.2	1.2	-
All items less food and energy	253.460	-	257.097	5.0	1.4	-
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.