Prices in the Phoenix area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 2.5 percent for the two months ending in April 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the April increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter and gasoline. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U jumped 11.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices advanced 8.6 percent. Energy prices jumped 32.6 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 9.7 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 1.8 percent for the two months ending in April. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home advanced 1.7 percent, led by higher prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (4.2 percent). Prices for food away from home advanced 1.8 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 8.6 percent. Prices for food at home increased 9.3 percent since a year ago. The price increase for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (16.5 percent) was nearly double all other food categories. Prices for food away from home increased 7.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 12.9 percent for the two months ending in April. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (22.4 percent). Prices for natural gas service rose 3.1 percent, and prices for electricity increased 1.2 percent for the same period.

Energy prices jumped 32.6 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (49.2 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service increased 16.2 percent, and prices for electricity increased 12.3 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.8 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for other goods and services (3.3 percent), household furnishings and operations (2.8 percent), and shelter (2.8 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for recreation (-2.8 percent), education and communication (-1.9 percent), and used cars and trucks (-1.7 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 9.7 percent. Components contributing to the increase included used cars and trucks (22.8 percent), shelter (14.8 percent), and household furnishings and operations (10.9 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in education and communication (-2.2 percent).

The June 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Phoenix area is scheduled to be released on July 13, 2022.

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; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

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-
	Historical data	Feb. 2022	Mar. 2022	Apr. 2022	Apr. 2021	Feb. 2022	Mar. 2022
Expenditure category
All items		163.261	-	167.396	11.0	2.5	-
Food and beverages		168.556	-	171.474	8.2	1.7	-
Food		170.825	-	173.850	8.6	1.8	-
Food at home		168.694	168.207	171.593	9.3	1.7	2.0
Cereals and bakery products		206.472	-	210.672	7.3	2.0	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		213.067	-	222.052	16.5	4.2	-
Dairy and related products		138.271	-	136.700	6.7	-1.1	-
Fruits and vegetables		145.426	-	146.875	9.7	1.0	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		131.963	-	132.155	5.3	0.1	-
Other food at home		162.878	-	165.709	8.3	1.7	-
Food away from home		176.006	-	179.241	7.6	1.8	-
Alcoholic beverages		144.266	-	145.832	1.5	1.1	-
Housing		173.843	-	178.921	14.1	2.9	-
Shelter		185.380	188.790	190.540	14.8	2.8	0.9
Rent of primary residence		192.184	196.099	199.057	12.7	3.6	1.5
Owners' equiv. rent of residences		184.729	187.654	189.376	15.2	2.5	0.9
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence		184.729	187.654	189.376	15.2	2.5	0.9
Fuels and utilities		173.712	-	181.068	12.6	4.2	-
Household energy		173.860	176.180	176.573	13.0	1.6	0.2
Energy services		173.287	175.258	175.741	12.7	1.4	0.3
Electricity		182.301	184.170	184.441	12.3	1.2	0.1
Utility (piped) gas service		129.082	131.549	133.070	16.2	3.1	1.2
Household furnishings and operations		107.822	-	110.802	10.9	2.8	-
Apparel		146.524	-	145.252	5.2	-0.9	-
Transportation		151.331	-	159.487	17.4	5.4	-
Private transportation		156.504	-	163.184	16.6	4.3	-
New and used motor vehicles		-	-	114.810	-	-	-
New vehicles		-	-	109.762	-	-	-
Used cars and trucks		128.140	-	125.901	22.8	-1.7	-
Motor fuel		316.267	379.223	387.562	49.6	22.5	2.2
Gasoline (all types)		316.421	378.771	387.343	49.2	22.4	2.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(1)		318.889	383.483	392.086	50.8	23.0	2.2
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(1)		328.415	388.979	398.796	46.7	21.4	2.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(1)		311.245	365.536	374.053	43.1	20.2	2.3
Medical care		-	-	207.784	-	-	-
Recreation		128.332	-	124.786	3.0	-2.8	-
Education and communication		119.807	-	117.571	-2.2	-1.9	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care		-	-	217.111	-	-	-
Other goods and services		160.213	-	165.527	9.4	3.3	-
Commodity and service group
All items		163.261	-	167.396	11.0	2.5	-
Commodities		142.512	-	146.520	12.3	2.8	-
Commodities less food & beverages		128.799	-	133.167	14.6	3.4	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		172.206	-	185.105	18.4	7.5	-
Durables		92.117	-	92.065	11.6	-0.1	-
Services		177.438	-	181.632	10.2	2.4	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		161.032	-	165.239	11.8	2.6	-
All items less shelter		152.091	-	155.715	9.0	2.4	-
Commodities less food		129.581	-	133.885	14.2	3.3	-
Nondurables		170.733	-	178.215	13.0	4.4	-
Nondurables less food		170.145	-	182.190	17.4	7.1	-
Services less rent of shelter		167.213	-	170.077	4.4	1.7	-
Services less medical care services		174.975	-	179.225	11.2	2.4	-
Energy		240.517	267.878	271.556	32.6	12.9	1.4
All items less energy		158.933	-	161.757	9.5	1.8	-
All items less food and energy		157.036	-	159.828	9.7	1.8	-
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.