The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater rose 2.4 percent from November to January, 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 2.5 percent over the bi-monthly period. The food index and the energy index also increased over the bi-monthly period, up 2.2 percent and 1.7 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 9.6 percent for the 12 months ending in January. The index for all items less food and energy increased 9.0 percent over the past 12 months, while the energy index rose 25.1 percent. The food index also increased over the past year, up 6.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index rose 2.2 percent from November to January, led by a 2.8-percent increase in the food at home index. The food away from home index also increased over the bi-monthly period, up 1.4 percent.

The food index advanced 6.2 percent for the 12 months ending in January, reflecting increases in the food at home (+7.2 percent) and food away from home (+4.9 percent) indexes.

Energy

The energy index rose 1.7 percent from November to January, reflecting a 6.2-percent increase in the electricity index. In contrast, the gasoline and the utility (piped) gas service indexes declined over the bi-monthly period, down 1.7 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.  

The energy index advanced 25.1 percent for the 12 months ending in January, primarily due to a 38.6-percent increase in the gasoline index. The electricity index increased 13.4 percent over the past year and the utility (piped) gas service index rose 8.3 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.5 percent from November to January, led by a 2.5-percent increase in the shelter index. The new and used motor vehicles index rose 2.8 percent over the bi-monthly period—reflecting increases in the used cars and trucks (+4.9 percent) and new vehicles (+1.5 percent) indexes.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 9.0 percent for the 12 months ending in January, reflecting increases across many indexes, most notable, shelter (+10.1 percent). The new and used motor vehicles index rose 21.5 percent over the past year, led by a 40.2-percent increase in the used cars and trucks index. The new vehicles index rose 14.1 percent over the past year.  

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

Month	2018		2019		2020		2021		2022
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
January	0.8		-1.1	0.4	0.7	3.8	0.9	3.4	2.4	9.6
March	0.6		1.9	1.7	0.2	2.1	1.6	4.9
May	0.4		0.9	2.2	-0.3	0.9	1.0	6.2
July	0.3		0.1	2.1	1.0	1.8	1.4	6.6
September	0.6		-0.1	1.5	1.4	3.3	1.0	6.1
November	-0.3	2.3	0.2	2.0	0.1	3.2	1.8	8.0

The Consumer Price Index for February 2022 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, March 10, 2022, 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. 2021	Dec. 2021	Jan. 2022	Jan. 2021	Nov. 2021	Dec. 2021
Expenditure category
All Items	255.851	-	262.052	9.6	2.4	-
Food and beverages	258.754	-	263.847	5.9	2.0	-
Food	259.993	-	265.678	6.2	2.2	-
Food at home	268.398	269.294	275.891	7.2	2.8	2.4
Cereals and bakery products	274.292	-	280.671	2.5	2.3	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	296.692	-	297.540	21.1	0.3	-
Dairy and related products	249.602	-	254.218	1.2	1.8	-
Fruits and vegetables	354.156	-	358.015	-1.4	1.1	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	186.269	-	204.115	0.3	9.6	-
Other food at home	206.449	-	215.428	6.2	4.3	-
Food away from home	248.817	-	252.312	4.9	1.4	-
Alcoholic beverages	227.950	-	225.831	2.1	-0.9	-
Housing	263.252	-	271.028	9.8	3.0	-
Shelter	304.206	308.432	311.759	10.1	2.5	1.1
Rent of primary residence	312.605	317.504	319.993	10.8	2.4	0.8
Owners' equiv. rent of residences	321.032	324.298	328.400	10.2	2.3	1.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence	321.032	324.298	328.400	10.2	2.3	1.3
Fuels and utilities	228.053	-	238.542	11.1	4.6	-
Household energy	177.607	177.552	188.088	13.3	5.9	5.9
Energy Services	174.893	174.825	185.396	13.2	6.0	6.0
Electricity	172.419	172.419	183.192	13.4	6.2	6.2
Utility (piped) gas service	228.478	225.311	225.311	8.3	-1.4	0.0
Household furnishings and operations	135.857	-	142.349	4.9	4.8	-
Apparel	134.198	-	141.660	13.5	5.6	-
Transportation	238.469	-	245.057	21.1	2.8	-
Private transportation	249.248	-	255.484	22.7	2.5	-
New and used motor vehicles(1)	131.648	-	135.312	21.5	2.8	-
New vehicles	140.344	-	142.415	14.1	1.5	-
Used cars and trucks	189.931	-	199.214	40.2	4.9	-
Motor fuel	349.701	344.858	343.790	38.4	-1.7	-0.3
Gasoline (all types)	342.039	337.517	336.133	38.6	-1.7	-0.4
Unleaded regular(2)	331.074	326.468	325.061	39.5	-1.8	-0.4
Unleaded midgrade(2)(3)	344.698	341.822	340.665	35.7	-1.2	-0.3
Unleaded premium(2)	380.126	376.809	375.911	32.5	-1.1	-0.2
Medical Care	448.108	-	458.708	4.2	2.4	-
Recreation(1)	130.229	-	128.945	4.7	-1.0	-
Education and communication(1)	136.496	-	135.892	1.6	-0.4	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care	651.989	-	651.989	1.2	0.0	-
Other goods and services	318.335	-	326.703	6.9	2.6	-
Commodity and service group
All Items	255.851	-	262.052	9.6	2.4	-
Commodities	195.522	-	200.241	12.0	2.4	-
Commodities less food & beverages	163.135	-	167.547	16.6	2.7	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	226.410	-	231.077	17.2	2.1	-
Durables	106.451	-	110.027	16.1	3.4	-
Services	309.659	-	317.069	8.3	2.4	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	245.496	-	251.451	10.1	2.4	-
All items less shelter	235.608	-	241.070	9.2	2.3	-
Commodities less food	166.479	-	170.715	15.9	2.5	-
Nondurables	242.722	-	247.603	10.4	2.0	-
Nondurables less food	226.312	-	230.399	15.7	1.8	-
Services less rent of shelter	310.117	-	316.817	5.9	2.2	-
Services less medical care services	294.226	-	301.876	9.2	2.6	-
Energy	244.049	242.184	248.129	25.1	1.7	2.5
All items less energy	256.582	-	262.951	8.6	2.5	-
All items less food and energy	256.290	-	262.766	9.0	2.5	-
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.