Prices in the Phoenix area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 2.4 percent for the two months ending in April 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the April increase was influenced by higher prices for gasoline and recreation. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 4.9 percent. Food prices increased 3.0 percent. Energy prices jumped 18.6 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy rose 4.2 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 1.3 percent for the two months ending in April. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home increased 2.4 percent. Prices for food away from home edged up 0.2 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 3.0 percent. Prices for food away from home increased 3.4 percent, and prices for food at home increased 2.7 percent since a year ago.

Energy

The energy index jumped 10.3 percent for the two months ending in April. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (17.9 percent). Prices for natural gas service rose 3.9 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 1.7 percent for the same period.

Energy prices jumped 18.6 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (34.3 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service increased 10.5 percent, and prices for electricity rose 2.7 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.0 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for apparel (8.8 percent), recreation (5.8 percent), and shelter (0.7 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for other goods and services (-1.7 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 4.2 percent. Components contributing to the increase included motor vehicle insurance (29.3 percent), used cars and trucks (20.0 percent), apparel (12.8 percent), and shelter (3.7 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in other goods and services (-0.2 percent).

The June 2021 Consumer Price Index for the Phoenix area is scheduled to be released on July 13, 2021.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measures 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 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale metropolitan area covered in this release consists of Maricopa and Pinal Counties in the State of Arizona.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments 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

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale (December 2001=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Feb. 2021	Mar. 2021	Apr. 2021	Apr. 2020	Feb. 2021	Mar. 2021
Expenditure category
All items	147.186	-	150.787	4.9	2.4	-
Food and beverages	156.457	-	158.516	2.7	1.3	-
Food	157.951	-	160.063	3.0	1.3	-
Food at home	153.238	153.548	156.925	2.7	2.4	2.2
Cereals and bakery products	195.735	-	196.378	1.2	0.3	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	183.322	-	190.548	-0.4	3.9	-
Dairy and related products	129.853	-	128.153	4.6	-1.3	-
Fruits and vegetables	128.660	-	133.942	0.7	4.1	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	120.277	-	125.560	7.5	4.4	-
Other food at home	149.874	-	152.943	3.6	2.0	-
Food away from home	166.140	-	166.554	3.4	0.2	-
Alcoholic beverages	142.287	-	143.701	-1.3	1.0	-
Housing	155.488	-	156.755	3.4	0.8	-
Shelter	164.876	165.236	165.970	3.7	0.7	0.4
Rent of primary residence	175.726	176.070	176.677	3.1	0.5	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences	163.408	163.650	164.381	3.6	0.6	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence	163.408	163.650	164.381	3.6	0.6	0.4
Fuels and utilities	158.741	-	160.877	4.7	1.3	-
Household energy	153.232	155.132	156.245	3.5	2.0	0.7
Energy services	152.872	154.752	155.880	3.4	2.0	0.7
Electricity	161.414	163.325	164.231	2.7	1.7	0.6
Utility (piped) gas service	110.151	111.953	114.490	10.5	3.9	2.3
Household furnishings and operations	98.541	-	99.911	0.9	1.4	-
Apparel	126.906	-	138.042	12.8	8.8	-
Transportation	125.638	-	135.829	13.9	8.1	-
Private transportation	129.895	-	139.933	14.9	7.7	-
New and used motor vehicles	-	-	-	-	-	-
New vehicles	-	-	-	-	-	-
Used cars and trucks	92.490	-	102.486	20.0	10.8	-
Motor fuel	219.613	262.053	259.003	33.9	17.9	-1.2
Gasoline (all types)	220.077	262.653	259.560	34.3	17.9	-1.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular(1)	219.450	262.972	260.003	35.2	18.5	-1.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(1)	236.082	275.256	271.882	29.2	15.2	-1.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium(1)	226.383	265.179	261.340	30.3	15.4	-1.4
Motor vehicle insurance	158.538	-	161.037	29.3	1.6	-
Medical care	-	-	-	-	-	-
Recreation	114.490	-	121.132	3.7	5.8	-
Education and communication	118.410	-	120.210	2.9	1.5	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care	-	-	-	-	-	-
Other goods and services	153.790	-	151.237	-0.2	-1.7	-
Commodity and service group
All items	147.186	-	150.787	4.9	2.4	-
Commodities	124.984	-	130.456	6.1	4.4	-
Commodities less food & beverages	109.419	-	116.173	8.0	6.2	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	143.896	-	156.286	10.8	8.6	-
Durables	79.700	-	82.491	5.0	3.5	-
Services	162.598	-	164.760	4.2	1.3	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	144.020	-	147.758	5.1	2.6	-
All items less shelter	138.173	-	142.877	5.6	3.4	-
Commodities less food	110.619	-	117.247	7.7	6.0	-
Nondurables	150.556	-	157.714	6.5	4.8	-
Nondurables less food	143.592	-	155.249	10.0	8.1	-
Services less rent of shelter	159.531	-	162.919	5.0	2.1	-
Services less medical care services	158.694	-	161.110	4.3	1.5	-
Energy	185.649	205.527	204.820	18.6	10.3	-0.3
All items less energy	144.891	-	147.688	4.1	1.9	-
All items less food and energy	142.846	-	145.736	4.2	2.0	-
Footnotes (1) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
- Data not available NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.