The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Dallas-Fort Worth rose 0.8 percent in April and May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that a 5.9-percent increase in energy costs and a 0.6-percent rise in the index for all items less food and energy were nearly equal contributors to the bimonthly advance; food prices were unchanged during the period. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bimonthly changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

During the year ended in May 2016, the all items CPI-U rose 1.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.7 percent during the latest period, marking the highest rate of increase since November 2011, when prices advanced at the same pace.

Food

Food prices were unchanged in April and May, after decreasing 0.3 percent in the previous two-month period. Opposing movements were registered by the two components of the index as prices for food at home (grocery store prices) edged down 0.2 percent while prices for food away from home increased 0.3 percent.

From May 2015 to May 2016, food prices rose 0.4 percent, reflecting the combined effects of a 2.0-percent price rise for food away from home and a 1.1-percent price decline for food at home.

Energy

The energy index rose 5.9 percent in April and May, following a 1.1-percent increase in February and March. A 10.6-percent increase in motor fuel costs was the biggest factor in the advance, but higher household energy prices also contributed. Natural gas costs rose 7.2 percent during the period and electricity prices were up 1.0 percent.

During the year ended in May 2016, the energy index registered a 13.5-percent decrease. The biggest contributor to the decline was a 19.3-percent drop in motor fuel prices, though a 10.7-percent decrease in electricity costs also contributed. Countering a portion of these declines, natural gas prices increased 20.6 percent during the previous 12 months.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.6 percent in April and May, after increasing 0.9 percent in February and March. Among the leading factors in the advance were higher prices for shelter (1.5 percent), recreation (2.6 percent), and public transportation (airline fares). Slowing these gains were lower prices for apparel (-1.6 percent), as well as declines in the indexes for medical care and education and communication (-0.8 percent, each).

From May 2015 to May 2016, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.7 percent. The biggest factor in the annual increase was a 4.6-percent rise in shelter costs. Within the shelter component, higher rates of increase for owners’ equivalent rent (5.1 percent) and renters’ costs (4.8 percent) were slowed by a decline in the cost of lodging away from home (hotel and motel charges). Other large contributors to the annual increase included medical care (3.9 percent) and education and communication (3.8 percent). Countering a portion of these advances, apparel prices fell 0.8 percent over the year.

The July 2016 Consumer Price Index for All Items for Dallas-Fort Worth is scheduled to be released Tuesday, August 16, 2016.

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 89 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 28 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 87 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 24,000 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 Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) includes Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Henderson, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, and Tarrant 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,
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from -
	Mar. 2016	Apr. 2016	May 2016	May 2015	Mar. 2016	Apr. 2016
All items	218.877	-	220.717	1.0	0.8	-
All items (1967 = 100)	686.605	-	692.378
Food and beverages	249.669	-	249.905	0.4	0.1	-
Food	244.392	-	244.476	0.4	0.0	-
Food at home	217.788	219.375	217.287	-1.1	-0.2	-1.0
Food away from home	285.666	-	286.545	2.0	0.3	-
Alcoholic beverages	318.366	-	320.752	-0.8	0.7	-
Housing	201.544	-	204.029	3.0	1.2	-
Shelter	220.225	221.322	223.471	4.6	1.5	1.0
Rent of primary residence (1)	231.213	231.706	232.543	4.8	0.6	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of residences (1) (2)	236.609	238.083	239.480	5.1	1.2	0.6
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence (1) (2)	236.609	238.083	239.480	5.1	1.2	0.6
Fuels and utilities	210.681	-	213.808	-3.9	1.5	-
Household energy	191.256	191.480	194.814	-7.4	1.9	1.7
Energy services (1) (3)	188.194	188.413	191.777	-7.3	1.9	1.8
Electricity (1)	183.367	183.367	185.111	-10.7	1.0	1.0
Utility (piped) gas service (1)	168.189	169.476	180.352	20.6	7.2	6.4
Household furnishings and operations	126.194	-	125.061	0.1	-0.9	-
Apparel	112.400	-	110.633	-0.8	-1.6	-
Transportation	193.954	-	198.009	-4.8	2.1	-
Private transportation	195.614	-	198.358	-5.2	1.4	-
Motor fuel	173.335	181.592	191.677	-19.3	10.6	5.6
Gasoline (all types)	172.632	180.869	190.876	-19.3	10.6	5.5
Gasoline, unleaded regular (4)	165.540	173.720	183.839	-20.3	11.1	5.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (4) (5)	183.801	191.956	201.459	-17.7	9.6	5.0
Gasoline, unleaded premium (4)	189.970	197.846	206.688	-15.2	8.8	4.5
Medical care	431.261	-	427.874	3.9	-0.8	-
Recreation (6)	110.811	-	113.674	1.1	2.6	-
Education and communication (6)	142.248	-	141.065	3.8	-0.8	-
Other goods and services	387.268	-	387.190	0.4	0.0	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	170.848	-	171.869	-2.7	0.6	-
Commodities less food and beverages	135.662	-	136.882	-4.6	0.9	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	161.147	-	163.334	-6.3	1.4	-
Durables	113.131	-	113.598	-2.0	0.4	-
Services	265.868	-	268.500	3.5	1.0	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	219.040	-	220.213	-0.6	0.5	-
All items less medical care	208.602	-	210.681	0.8	1.0	-
Commodities less food	140.324	-	141.576	-4.5	0.9	-
Nondurables	201.257	-	202.621	-2.9	0.7	-
Nondurables less food	168.420	-	170.615	-6.0	1.3	-
Services less rent of shelter (2)	330.962	-	332.452	2.2	0.5	-
Services less medical care services	249.771	-	252.468	3.4	1.1	-
Energy	183.913	188.056	194.706	-13.5	5.9	3.5
All items less energy	225.823	-	226.910	2.4	0.5	-
All items less food and energy	222.744	-	223.979	2.7	0.6	-
(1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (2) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Prior to January 2011 this series was titled Gas (piped) and electricity. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (6) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.