The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach was down 0.3 percent over the July-August pricing period, 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 edged down 0.3 percent and the energy index decreased 1.1 percent over the two months. The food index was unchanged over the two-month pricing period. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the all items CPI-U increased 3.6 percent. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.2 percent over the year, while the energy index advanced 11.2 percent. The food index was up 1.7 percent since August 2017. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index was unchanged over the July-August pricing period. The food away from home index increased 0.7 percent, while the food at home index decreased 0.5 percent over the two-month pricing period.

Since August 2017, the food index increased 1.7 percent, reflecting increases in the indexes for food away from home (2.1 percent) and food at home (1.4 percent).

Energy

The energy index decreased 1.1 percent over the July-August pricing period, led by a 1.4-percent decrease in the motor fuel index. The electricity index was down 0.6 percent over the two months.

Over the year, the energy index advanced 11.2 percent, fueled by a 22.5-percent increase in the motor fuel index. The electricity index was down 0.6 percent from August 2017.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy was down 0.3 percent over the July-August pricing period, reflecting decreases in the apparel (-2.4 percent) and the medical care (-0.5 percent) indexes.

From August 2017 to August 2018, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.2 percent. The indexes for shelter and medical care contributed to the increase, up 2.8 and 10.8 percent, respectively.

Table A. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2014		2015		2016		2017		2018
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	1.2	1.6	0.3	0.4	0.2	1.6	1.3	4.0	2.6	3.2
April	0.7	2.5	0.8	0.5	0.7	1.4	-0.5	2.8	-0.1	3.5
June	-0.3	2.4	0.4	1.2	0.6	1.6	-0.2	2.0	0.5	4.2
August	-0.1	2.4	0.0	1.3	0.0	1.6	0.3	2.3	-0.3	3.6
October	0.4	2.2	0.2	1.1	0.5	1.9	1.0	2.7
December	-0.6	1.4	-0.1	1.6	0.8	2.9	-0.1	1.8

The Consumer Price Index for September 2018 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, October 11, 2018.

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 population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 29 percent of the total 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 5,000 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 (1982-84) that equals 100.0. An increase of 16.5 percent, for example, is shown as 116.5. This change can also be expressed in dollars as follows: the price of a base period "market basket" of goods and services in the CPI has risen from $10 in 1982-84 to $11.65. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch17.pdf.

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 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL, Core Based Statistical Area covered in this release is comprised of Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach Counties in Florida.

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.