The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater rose 1.4 percent from May to July, 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 increased 1.2 percent over the bi-monthly period. The food index and the energy index also increased from May to July, up 1.7 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively. (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 6.6 percent for the 12 months ending in July. The index for all items less food and energy increased 5.7 percent over the past 12 months, while the energy index rose sharply, up 25.1 percent. The food index rose 4.3 percent over the past year. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index rose 1.7 percent from May to July, led by a 2.3-percent increase in the food at home index. The food away from home index also increased over the bi-monthly period, up 0.9 percent.

The food index increased 4.3 percent for the 12 months ending in July. The food at home index advanced 6.0 percent over the past year, while the food away from home index rose 2.2 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 2.6 percent from May to July, reflecting increases in the gasoline (4.7 percent) and electricity (0.5 percent) indexes. The utility (piped) gas service index declined 3.3 percent over the bi-monthly period.

The energy index rose 25.1 percent for the 12 months ending in July, primarily due to a 44.0-percent increase in the gasoline index. The electricity index advanced 9.4 percent over the past 12 months, while the utility (piped) gas service index declined 3.3 percent over the past year.  

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.2 percent from May to July, led by a 1.5 percent increase in the shelter index. The new and used motor vehicles index rose 3.9 percent over the bi-monthly period—reflecting a 12.0 percent increase in the used cars and trucks index. Medical care was also among the many indexes to increase from May to July, up 2.8 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 5.7 percent for the 12 months ending in July, reflecting increases across many indexes. The shelter index rose 5.7 percent over the past year, while the new and used motor vehicles index jumped 16.1 percent—reflecting a 40.5-percent spike in the used cars and trucks index. The medical care index rose increased 5.5 percent over last 12 months.  

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	1.6	4.9
May	0.9	2.2	-0.3	0.9	1.0	6.2
July	0.1	2.1	1.0	1.8	1.4	6.6
September	-0.1	1.5	1.4	3.3
November	0.2	2.0	0.1	3.2

The Consumer Price Index for August 2021 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, September 14, 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-
	May 2021	Jun. 2021	Jul. 2021	Jul. 2020	May 2021	Jun. 2021
Expenditure category
All Items	245.419	-	248.811	6.6	1.4	-
Food and beverages	254.798	-	258.873	4.2	1.6	-
Food	255.638	-	259.895	4.3	1.7	-
Food at home	266.464	275.673	272.522	6.0	2.3	-1.1
Cereals and bakery products	279.490	-	280.344	6.5	0.3	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	263.282	-	286.212	12.4	8.7	-
Dairy and related products	258.651	-	243.369	-0.6	-5.9	-
Fruits and vegetables	385.421	-	395.831	12.2	2.7	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	204.525	-	204.719	5.6	0.1	-
Other food at home	203.203	-	203.509	-2.6	0.2	-
Food away from home	241.615	-	243.719	2.2	0.9	-
Alcoholic beverages	228.639	-	230.441	2.2	0.8	-
Housing	251.466	-	254.869	5.5	1.4	-
Shelter	291.279	292.578	295.672	5.7	1.5	1.1
Rent of primary residence	296.665	297.584	299.327	4.6	0.9	0.6
Owners' equiv. rent of residences	306.278	307.662	309.734	5.4	1.1	0.7
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence	306.278	307.662	309.734	5.4	1.1	0.7
Fuels and utilities	214.367	-	214.997	7.5	0.3	-
Household energy	165.634	165.673	166.308	9.0	0.4	0.4
Energy Services	163.286	163.286	163.851	9.0	0.3	0.3
Electricity	160.835	160.835	161.563	9.4	0.5	0.5
Utility (piped) gas service	219.833	219.844	212.674	-3.3	-3.3	-3.3
Household furnishings and operations	129.125	-	130.458	1.7	1.0	-
Apparel	126.543	-	121.635	1.8	-3.9	-
Transportation	220.895	-	225.236	19.2	2.0	-
Private transportation	227.290	-	234.646	18.4	3.2	-
New and used motor vehicles(1)	119.677	-	124.301	16.1	3.9	-
New vehicles	128.834	-	128.776	6.7	0.0	-
Used cars and trucks	170.024	-	190.427	40.5	12.0	-
Motor fuel	301.665	309.348	315.776	43.6	4.7	2.1
Gasoline (all types)	295.163	302.671	309.005	44.0	4.7	2.1
Unleaded regular(2)	284.928	292.344	298.520	45.0	4.8	2.1
Unleaded midgrade(2)(3)	300.398	307.576	313.343	39.5	4.3	1.9
Unleaded premium(2)	334.389	341.457	348.203	37.4	4.1	2.0
Motor vehicle insurance	614.846	-	614.846	6.2	0.0	-
Medical Care	436.170	-	448.205	5.5	2.8	-
Recreation(1)	125.061	-	124.776	-0.3	-0.2	-
Education and communication(1)	135.042	-	135.974	2.4	0.7	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care	644.253	-	649.692	1.5	0.8	-
Other goods and services	312.177	-	-	-	-	-
Commodity and service group
All Items	245.419	-	248.811	6.6	1.4	-
Commodities	185.841	-	188.925	8.6	1.7	-
Commodities less food & beverages	151.181	-	153.757	12.2	1.7	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	210.444	-	212.492	13.2	1.0	-
Durables	98.355	-	100.759	11.1	2.4	-
Services	298.424	-	302.129	5.6	1.2	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	235.179	-	238.139	6.7	1.3	-
All items less shelter	226.256	-	229.205	7.2	1.3	-
Commodities less food	154.901	-	157.466	11.6	1.7	-
Nondurables	233.389	-	236.529	7.7	1.3	-
Nondurables less food	211.901	-	213.924	12.0	1.0	-
Services less rent of shelter	301.536	-	304.235	5.4	0.9	-
Services less medical care services	283.019	-	285.916	5.5	1.0	-
Energy	218.353	221.281	224.110	25.1	2.6	1.3
All items less energy	247.385	-	250.584	5.5	1.3	-
All items less food and energy	246.316	-	249.351	5.7	1.2	-
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.