The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater rose 1.3 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 1.4 percent over the bi-monthly period. The food index rose 2.7 percent from May to July, while the energy index declined 1.8 percent. (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 11.2 percent for the 12 months ending in July. The index for all items less food and energy increased 10.1 percent over the past year. The energy index and the food index also increased over the prior 12 months, up 32.5 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index rose 2.7 percent from May to July, led by a 3.7-percent increase in the food at home index. The food away from home index also increased in July, up 1.4 percent.  

The food index advanced 7.7 percent for the 12 months ending in July, reflecting increases in the food at home (+9.3 percent) and food away from home (+5.5 percent) indexes.

Energy

The energy index declined 1.8 percent from May to July, reflecting a 3.8-percent decrease in the gasoline index. The electricity index and the utility (piped) gas service index increased over the bi-monthly period, up 1.5 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.

The energy index advanced 32.5 percent for the 12 months ending in July, primarily due to a 42.4-percent increase in the gasoline index. The electricity index increased 19.7 percent over the past year and the utility (piped) gas service index increased 18.8 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.4 percent from May to July, primarily reflecting a 3.7-percent increase in the shelter index.  

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 10.1 percent for the 12 months ending in July, led by a 13.6-percent increase in the shelter index. The new and used motor vehicles index rose 12.0 percent over the past year, reflecting increases in the new vehicles (+13.6 percent) and used cars and trucks (+6.1 percent) indexes.

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	2.1	10.2
May	0.4		0.9	2.2	-0.3	0.9	1.0	6.2	2.1	11.3
July	0.3		0.1	2.1	1.0	1.8	1.4	6.6	1.3	11.2
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 August 2022 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, September 13, 2022, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

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 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; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

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)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	May 2022	Jun. 2022	Jul. 2022	Jul. 2021	May 2022	Jun. 2022
Expenditure category
All Items	273.245	-	276.750	11.2	1.3	-
Food and beverages	270.625	-	277.519	7.2	2.5	-
Food	272.455	-	279.861	7.7	2.7	-
Food at home	287.173	293.278	297.740	9.3	3.7	1.5
Cereals and bakery products	295.339	-	313.297	11.8	6.1	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	308.029	-	321.034	12.2	4.2	-
Dairy and related products	271.616	-	265.174	9.0	-2.4	-
Fruits and vegetables	383.182	-	394.881	-0.2	3.1	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	207.063	-	208.477	1.8	0.7	-
Other food at home	220.611	-	234.508	15.2	6.3	-
Food away from home	253.651	-	257.230	5.5	1.4	-
Alcoholic beverages	232.185	-	232.643	1.0	0.2	-
Housing	281.770	-	289.964	13.8	2.9	-
Shelter	323.833	328.443	335.847	13.6	3.7	2.3
Rent of primary residence	332.053	336.768	343.866	14.9	3.6	2.1
Owners' equiv. rent of residences	338.482	342.652	348.860	12.6	3.1	1.8
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence	338.482	342.652	348.860	12.6	3.1	1.8
Fuels and utilities	246.635	-	249.177	15.9	1.0	-
Household energy	196.837	197.010	199.584	20.0	1.4	1.3
Energy Services	193.359	193.555	196.119	19.7	1.4	1.3
Electricity	190.636	190.636	193.421	19.7	1.5	1.5
Utility (piped) gas service	251.636	259.460	252.728	18.8	0.4	-2.6
Household furnishings and operations	149.716	-	147.745	13.3	-1.3	-
Apparel	141.097	-	131.615	8.2	-6.7	-
Transportation	270.838	-	267.566	18.8	-1.2	-
Private transportation	276.956	-	278.442	18.7	0.5	-
New and used motor vehicles(1)	136.728	-	139.257	12.0	1.8	-
New vehicles	144.702	-	146.337	13.6	1.1	-
Used cars and trucks	196.870	-	201.968	6.1	2.6	-
Motor fuel	468.494	505.532	450.545	42.7	-3.8	-10.9
Gasoline (all types)	457.431	493.967	439.949	42.4	-3.8	-10.9
Unleaded regular(2)	444.911	480.775	426.780	43.0	-4.1	-11.2
Unleaded midgrade(2)(3)	451.022	485.948	440.948	40.7	-2.2	-9.3
Unleaded premium(2)	488.700	524.788	479.726	37.8	-1.8	-8.6
Medical Care	461.679	-	465.028	3.8	0.7	-
Recreation(1)	132.046	-	130.475	4.6	-1.2	-
Education and communication(1)	136.765	-	135.240	-0.5	-1.1	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care	656.274	-	662.067	1.9	0.9	-
Other goods and services	332.107	-	338.686	-	2.0	-
Commodity and service group
All Items	273.245	-	276.750	11.2	1.3	-
Commodities	211.219	-	211.637	12.0	0.2	-
Commodities less food & beverages	179.925	-	177.641	15.5	-1.3	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	261.574	-	255.060	20.0	-2.5	-
Durables	112.255	-	112.235	11.4	0.0	-
Services	328.355	-	334.699	10.8	1.9	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	263.069	-	266.579	11.9	1.3	-
All items less shelter	251.880	-	251.864	9.9	0.0	-
Commodities less food	182.996	-	180.783	14.8	-1.2	-
Nondurables	265.103	-	265.879	12.4	0.3	-
Nondurables less food	258.789	-	252.881	18.2	-2.3	-
Services less rent of shelter	326.755	-	326.114	7.2	-0.2	-
Services less medical care services	313.235	-	319.774	11.8	2.1	-
Energy	302.218	316.818	296.852	32.5	-1.8	-6.3
All items less energy	270.762	-	274.962	9.7	1.6	-
All items less food and energy	270.762	-	274.422	10.1	1.4	-
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. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.
- Data not available.