The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater rose 0.9 percent from November to January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin contributed the increase to a 9.2-percent rise in the energy index over the bi-monthly period. The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.4 percent from November to January. Similarly, the food index was also up 0.4 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 increased 3.4 percent from January 2020 to January 2021. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.3 percent over the past 12 months, while the food index jumped 6.6 percent. In contrast, the energy index declined 2.2 percent over the past year. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index rose 0.4 percent from November to January. The food at home index and the food away from home index each increased over the bi-monthly period, up 0.5 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

The food index advanced 6.6 percent for the 12 months ending in January, led by a 10.9-percent jump in the food at home index. The food way from home index also increased over the year, up 1.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index jumped 9.2 percent from November to January, reflecting an 18.8-percent increase in the gasoline index. The electricity index also increased over the bi-monthly period, up 2.1 percent, while the utility (piped) gas service index declined 2.8 percent.    

The energy index fell 2.2 percent for the 12 months ending in January, led by a 6.1-percent decline in the gasoline index. The utility (piped) gas service index fell 13.6 percent over the past 12 months, while the electricity index rose 2.3 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.4 percent from November to January, led by increases in the shelter (0.5 percent) and household furnishings and operations (4.9 percent) indexes.   

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.3 percent for the 12 months ending in January. Increases in the shelter (4.3 percent) and medical care (7.2 percent) indexes contributed to the over-the-year increase.

Table A. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2019		2020		2021
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
January	-1.1	0.4	0.7	3.8	0.9	3.4
March	1.9	1.7	0.2	2.1
May	0.9	2.2	-0.3	0.9
July	0.1	2.1	1.0	1.8
September	-0.1	1.5	1.4	3.3
November	0.2	2.0	0.1	3.2

The Consumer Price Index for February 2021 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, March 10, 2021 at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measures 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 U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. 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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, Core Based Statistical Area includes Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas Counties.

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,
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL (1987=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Nov. 2020	Dec. 2020	Jan. 2021	Jan. 2020	Nov. 2020	Dec. 2020
Expenditure category
All Items	236.989	-	239.135	3.4	0.9	-
Food and beverages	248.597	-	249.207	6.2	0.2	-
Food	249.350	-	250.248	6.6	0.4	-
Food at home	256.112	256.973	257.384	10.9	0.5	0.2
Cereals and bakery products	280.904	-	273.911	6.3	-2.5	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	242.128	-	245.686	8.1	1.5	-
Dairy and related products	243.702	-	251.154	17.1	3.1	-
Fruits and vegetables	364.367	-	363.063	12.7	-0.4	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	190.815	-	203.564	18.0	6.7	-
Other food at home	208.204	-	202.863	8.9	-2.6	-
Food away from home	240.170	-	240.620	1.6	0.2	-
Alcoholic beverages	223.801	-	221.216	1.7	-1.2	-
Housing	244.368	-	246.876	4.5	1.0	-
Shelter	281.644	282.255	283.190	4.3	0.5	0.3
Rent of primary residence	287.705	286.811	288.780	3.9	0.4	0.7
Owners' equiv. rent of residences	295.736	296.942	297.982	4.2	0.8	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence	295.736	296.942	297.982	4.2	0.8	0.4
Fuels and utilities	211.618	-	214.689	2.7	1.5	-
Household energy	162.748	162.748	165.974	1.6	2.0	2.0
Energy Services	160.553	160.553	163.765	1.7	2.0	2.0
Electricity	158.191	158.191	161.577	2.3	2.1	2.1
Utility (piped) gas service	213.903	213.903	208.017	-13.6	-2.8	-2.8
Household furnishings and operations	129.271	-	135.650	8.4	4.9	-
Apparel	125.149	-	124.764	-3.4	-0.3	-
Transportation	198.284	-	202.378	-0.2	2.1	-
Private transportation	202.546	-	208.209	0.1	2.8	-
New and used motor vehicles(1)	113.283	-	111.326	2.0	-1.7	-
New vehicles	124.257	-	124.798	-1.2	0.4	-
Used cars and trucks	145.378	-	142.094	9.1	-2.3	-
Motor fuel	209.312	229.007	248.336	-6.0	18.6	8.4
Gasoline (all types)	204.146	223.502	242.517	-6.1	18.8	8.5
Unleaded regular(2)	194.868	214.017	232.993	-7.0	19.6	8.9
Unleaded midgrade(2)(3)	217.403	235.066	250.963	6.3	15.4	6.8
Unleaded premium(2)	249.155	267.124	283.708	0.7	13.9	6.2
Motor vehicle insurance	585.396	-	590.036	1.5	0.8	-
Medical Care	438.491	-	440.026	7.2	0.4	-
Recreation(1)	122.744	-	123.122	-2.1	0.3	-
Education and communication(1)	133.054	-	133.809	0.5	0.6	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care	644.253	-	644.253	2.2	0.0	-
Other goods and services	303.175	-	305.552	0.5	0.8	-
Commodity and service group
All Items	236.989	-	239.135	3.4	0.9	-
Commodities	175.783	-	178.775	2.6	1.7	-
Commodities less food & beverages	139.677	-	143.639	0.0	2.8	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	188.866	-	197.081	-2.6	4.3	-
Durables	93.503	-	94.803	2.6	1.4	-
Services	291.163	-	292.660	3.8	0.5	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	226.263	-	228.430	3.1	1.0	-
All items less shelter	218.304	-	220.769	2.9	1.1	-
Commodities less food	143.563	-	147.316	0.1	2.6	-
Nondurables	220.310	-	224.336	2.6	1.8	-
Nondurables less food	191.892	-	199.101	-2.1	3.8	-
Services less rent of shelter	297.896	-	299.267	3.2	0.5	-
Services less medical care services	275.295	-	276.402	3.2	0.4	-
Energy	181.634	189.077	198.414	-2.2	9.2	4.9
All items less energy	241.235	-	242.203	3.8	0.4	-
All items less food and energy	240.181	-	241.162	3.3	0.4	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (2) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (3) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
- Data not available.