The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Dallas-Fort Worth edged up 0.2 percent in October and November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that a 0.2-percent advance in the index for all items less food and energy was the biggest contributor, though a 0.4-percent rise in energy prices also played a role. Food prices were little changed during the period, dipping 0.1 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bimonthly changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

During the year ended in November 2016, the all items CPI-U rose 2.4 percent, its fastest rate of gain since the year ended in July 2013. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.8 percent during the latest 12-month period; on an annual basis, this index has risen within the narrow range of 2.7 percent to 2.9 percent since May 2016. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

Food prices slipped 0.1 percent in October and November, after edging up 0.2 percent in August and September. As in the previous bimonthly period, the two components of the food index registered opposing movements. Prices for food at home (grocery store prices) fell 0.4 percent, while prices for food away from home edged up 0.1 percent.

From November 2015 to November 2016, food prices fell 0.2 percent, the first annual decrease since September 2015. The latest over-the-year decline was entirely the result of lower prices for food at home, down 2.1 percent, as prices for food away from home rose 2.0 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 0.4 percent October and November, after falling 1.2 percent in August and September. The current increase reflected the combined effects of 4.7-percent rise in motor fuel prices and a 3.1-percent decrease in household energy costs. The decline in household energy costs was the result of a 4.0-percent decline in electricity costs.

During the year ended in November 2016, the energy index rose 2.6 percent. Higher prices for both motor fuels (6.1 percent) and natural gas (17.0 percent) were responsible for the increase, as electricity prices fell 3.7 percent over the year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent in October and November, after registering a 0.3-percent advance in August and September. A 0.9-percent increase in shelter costs was the major factor in the rise, though higher charges for education and communication (1.0 percent), particularly communication goods and service, also played a role. In contrast, many other categories registered lower prices, including new and used motor vehicles, apparel, medical care, household furnishings and operations, and alcoholic beverages.

From November 2015 to November 2016, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.8 percent. The largest contributor was a 6.0-percent increase in shelter costs, with a 6.6-percent rise in owners’ equivalent rent of a primary residence being the biggest factor. This 6.6-percent increase in local homeowners’ costs was the highest annual rate since May 1994 and the fourth highest since the series inception in 1982. Medical care prices were another contributor in the latest all items less food and energy increase as prices rose 3.6 percent over the year. The categories of apparel and recreation recorded declines during the previous 12 months, while costs for education and communication were unchanged.

The January 2017 Consumer Price Index for Dallas-Fort Worth is scheduled to be released Wednesday, February 15, 2017.

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.

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