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News Release Information

21-1638-ATL
Tuesday, September 14, 2021

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

Consumer Price Index, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach – August 2021

Area prices up 4.2 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach rose 0.2 percent from June to August, 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 0.7 percent over the bi-monthly period. The energy index also increased from June to August, up 1.5 percent. In contrast, the food index fell 4.2 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 4.2 percent for the 12 months ending in August. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.6 percent over the past 12 months, while the energy index advanced 24.1 percent. The food index declined 2.1 percent over the past year. (See chart 1 and table 1.)


Food

The food index fell 4.2 percent from June to August, led by a 6.8-percent decline in the food at home index. The food away from home index also declined over the bi-monthly period, down 0.5 percent.

The food index decreased 2.1 percent for the 12 months ending in August, reflecting a 6.5-percent decrease in the food at home index. In contrast, the food away home index increased 4.4 percent over the past year.   

Energy

The energy index rose 1.5 percent from June to August, reflecting a 2.5-percent increase in the gasoline index. The electricity index rose slightly over the bi-monthly period, up 0.1 percent, while the utility (piped) gas service index increased 1.1 percent.

The energy index increased 24.1 percent for the 12 months ending in August, led by a 41.0-percent spike in the gasoline index. The electricity and the utility (piped) gas service indexes also increased over the past year, up 6.0 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.7 percent from June to August. Several indexes increased over the bi-monthly period, including household furnishings and operations (5.0 percent), apparel (5.0 percent), medical care (1.3 percent), and shelter (0.2 percent). In contrast, the recreation and the used cars and trucks indexes declined from June to August, down 3.1 percent and 1.0 percent, respectively.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.6 percent for the 12 months ending in August, led by a 2.9-percent increase in the shelter index. The new and used motor vehicles index rose 13.6 percent over the past year, reflecting increases in the used cars and trucks (30.9 percent) and the new vehicles (12.4 percent) indexes. The recreation index declined 2.5 percent over the past 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
Month20172018201920202021
2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month

February

1.34.02.63.21.01.20.41.40.81.4

April

-0.52.8-0.13.50.82.2-1.0-0.51.64.1

June

-0.22.00.54.2-0.51.20.70.71.65.1

August

0.32.3-0.33.60.41.91.01.40.24.2

October

1.02.70.83.40.41.50.11.0

December

-0.11.8-0.62.9-0.22.0-0.21.1

The Consumer Price Index for September 2021 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, October 13, 2021 at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on August 2021 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 August 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 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 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-
Jun.
2021
Jul.
2021
Aug.
2021
Aug.
2020
Jun.
2021
Jul.
2021

Expenditure category

All Items

284.797-285.4724.20.2-

All items (November 1977=100)

459.053-460.141---

Food and beverages

289.526-277.729-2.7-4.1-

Food

295.025-282.658-2.1-4.2-

Food at home

285.426288.650266.110-6.5-6.8-7.8

Cereals and bakery products

323.504-322.048-1.6-0.5-

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

289.493-279.944-1.7-3.3-

Dairy and related products

247.145-236.505-2.2-4.3-

Fruits and vegetables

--289.342-22.1--

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

276.951-264.410-0.3-4.5-

Other food at home

--213.024-6.9--

Food away from home

313.461-311.7554.4-0.5-

Alcoholic beverages

224.148-218.813-10.7-2.4-

Housing

297.906-299.7823.50.6-

Shelter

343.169342.961343.9952.90.20.3

Rent of primary residence

332.098332.972334.4922.10.70.5

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)

346.855346.989348.3312.70.40.4

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)

346.855346.989348.3312.70.40.4

Fuels and utilities

185.798-186.0054.90.1-

Household energy

157.126157.164157.3336.10.10.1

Energy services

154.300154.317154.5026.00.10.1

Electricity

151.114151.114151.2796.00.10.1

Utility (piped) gas service

191.498192.471193.6365.91.10.6

Household furnishings and operations

174.478-183.2847.75.0-

Apparel

138.453-145.3214.75.0-

Transportation

247.027-251.41818.61.8-

Private transportation

255.664-261.87719.72.4-

New and used motor vehicles(3)

--135.79713.6--

New vehicles(1)

--261.47812.4--

Used cars and trucks(1)

421.239-417.07230.9-1.0-

Motor fuel

264.095269.319270.75040.92.50.5

Gasoline (all types)

261.169266.308267.75941.02.50.5

Unleaded regular(4)

257.522262.773264.18142.12.60.5

Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

257.425261.741263.21735.02.20.6

Unleaded premium(4)

279.644283.740285.48333.12.10.6

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

922.354-953.36718.23.4-

Medical Care

579.432-587.0540.21.3-

Recreation(3)

125.711-121.756-2.5-3.1-

Education and communication(3)

124.974-125.1991.90.2-

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

1,043.122-1,052.7782.90.9-

Other goods and services

368.054-369.5612.60.4-

Commodity and service group

All Items

284.797-285.4724.20.2-

Commodities

221.063-222.1847.20.5-

Commodities less food & beverages

180.666-186.56213.73.3-

Nondurables less food & beverages

210.502-215.29012.72.3-

Durables

147.129-153.72915.04.5-

Services

333.996-334.3853.00.1-

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

272.309-272.6964.60.1-

All items less shelter

254.039-254.6345.20.2-

Commodities less food

182.615-188.18812.63.1-

Nondurables

251.680-249.0814.3-1.0-

Nondurables less food

211.404-215.56710.92.0-

Services less rent of shelter(2)

329.227-328.9873.0-0.1-

Services less medical care services

315.174-314.9653.2-0.1-

Energy

205.271207.653208.39324.11.50.4

All items less energy

293.733-294.1292.90.1-

All items less food and energy

294.047-296.1313.60.7-

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: Tuesday, September 14, 2021