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News Release Information

23-2202-ATL
Thursday, October 12, 2023

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

Consumer Price Index, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater — September 2023

Area prices up 6.7 percent over the past 12 months

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater increased 1.1 percent from July to September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted the index for all items less food and energy also rose 1.1 percent over the bi-monthly period. The energy index and the food index increased from July to September, up 2.0 percent and 0.6 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 increased 6.7 percent for the 12 months ending in September. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy advanced 7.3 percent over the past year. The food index continued to rise, up 4.0 percent over the last 12 months. The energy index also increased over the past year, up 5.9 percent. (See table 1.) 

Food

The food index rose 0.6 percent from July to September. The food at home index rose 0.8 percent over the bi-monthly period. Three of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased over the bi-monthly period, led by a 5.8-percent increase in the index for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials. The food away from home index increased 0.3 percent from July to September.

The food index advanced 4.0 percent for the 12 months ending in September, led by a 7.3-percent increase in the food away from home index. The food at home index also increased over the past year, up 1.5 percent. Four of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased over the past year, including dairy and related products (+5.0 percent) and nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (+5.7 percent).

Energy

The energy index rose 2.0 percent from July to September, largely due to a 3.7-percent increase in the gasoline index. The electricity index rose 0.2 percent over the bi-monthly period.

The energy index advanced 5.9 percent for the 12 months ending in September. The electricity (+9.5 percent) and gasoline (+5.2 percent) indexes contributed to the increase.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.1 percent from July to September. The shelter index increased 2.0 percent over the bi-monthly period, reflecting increases in the owners’ equivalent rent (+2.2 percent) and rent of primary residence (+1.4 percent) indexes. Among the indexes to decline over the bi-monthly period include used cars and trucks (-7.2 percent) and education and communication (-2.1 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 7.3 percent for the 12 months ending in September, primarily reflecting a 10.2-percent increase in the shelter index. Within shelter, owners’ equivalent rent rose 11.4 percent over the past year and rent of primary residence increased 8.9 percent over the 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
Month20192020202120222023
2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month

January

-1.10.40.73.80.93.42.49.61.78.9

March

1.91.70.22.11.64.92.110.21.17.7

May

0.92.2-0.30.91.06.22.111.31.77.3

July

0.12.11.01.81.46.61.311.2-0.15.9

September

-0.11.51.43.31.06.10.310.51.16.7

November

0.22.00.13.21.88.01.09.6

The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Consumer Price Index for November 2023 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).


Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index for Tampa is published bi-monthly. 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, 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) (not seasonally adjusted)
Item and Group

IndexesPercent change from-
Jul.
2023
Aug.
2023
Sep.
2023
Sep.
2022
Jul.
2023
Aug.
2023

Expenditure category

All Items

292.974-296.1466.71.1-

Food and beverages

292.546-294.4304.30.6-

Food

294.769-296.4644.00.6-

Food at home

301.672301.788304.0151.50.80.7

Cereals and bakery products

325.011326.164331.1520.21.91.5

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

312.106301.515316.6741.61.55.0

Dairy and related products

281.772278.541279.4305.0-0.80.3

Fruits and vegetables

395.698409.645392.321-0.5-0.9-4.2

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials

211.700214.520224.0565.75.84.4

Other food at home

240.400241.526238.2800.0-0.9-1.3

Food away from home

285.463-286.3427.30.3-

Alcoholic beverages

247.684-251.3928.61.5-

Housing

317.392-322.8739.81.7-

Shelter

368.632369.999376.05710.22.01.6

Rent of primary residence

377.617378.588382.8178.91.41.1

Owners' equiv. rent of residences

388.900390.863397.64311.42.21.7

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence

388.900390.863397.64311.42.21.7

Fuels and utilities

266.260-266.7527.10.2-

Household energy

215.394-215.9248.20.2-

Energy Services

212.876-213.1908.70.1-

Electricity

210.972-211.3619.50.2-

Utility (piped) gas service

229.962231.112----

Household furnishings and operations

160.355-162.0917.71.1-

Apparel

142.257-145.231-3.12.1-

Transportation

264.232-264.6423.80.2-

Private transportation

274.267-274.5593.80.1-

New and used motor vehicles(1)

140.625-137.705-0.3-2.1-

New vehicles

152.320-151.4472.2-0.6-

Used cars and trucks

188.493-174.934-8.6-7.2-

Motor fuel

369.682403.770383.7135.23.8-5.0

Gasoline (all types)

360.603393.863374.0525.23.7-5.0

Unleaded regular(2)

349.162382.068362.2245.43.7-5.2

Unleaded midgrade(2)(3)

363.964394.859378.1884.93.9-4.2

Unleaded premium(2)

400.252431.283414.7164.43.6-3.8

Medical Care

496.427-503.0887.01.3-

Recreation(1)

135.081-137.3356.81.7-

Education and communication(1)

141.088-138.0652.0-2.1-

Tuition, other school fees, and child care

686.428-688.4053.40.3-

Other goods and services

349.234-356.9435.72.2-

Commodity and service group

All Items

292.974-296.1466.71.1-

Commodities

216.005-216.5433.10.2-

Commodities less food & beverages

177.257-177.3202.20.0-

Nondurables less food & beverages

246.874-253.6614.32.7-

Durables

115.748-113.4791.2-2.0-

Services

361.701-367.4198.81.6-

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

281.992-284.9786.71.1-

All items less shelter

261.223-262.6184.70.5-

Commodities less food

180.887-181.0542.50.1-

Nondurables

270.502-274.7524.41.6-

Nondurables less food

246.701-253.2144.72.6-

Services less rent of shelter

344.697-347.9846.91.0-

Services less medical care services

347.928-353.8909.61.7-

Energy

273.485285.769278.8685.92.0-2.4

All items less energy

294.304-297.3116.81.0-

All items less food and energy

294.533-297.7387.31.1-

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.
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, October 12, 2023