Prices in the Seattle area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.1 percent for the two months ending in December 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the December increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 8.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices advanced 11.3 percent. Energy prices advanced 5.7 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 8.1 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.8 percent for the two months ending in December. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home increased 0.1 percent. Higher prices for cereals and bakery products (3.2 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (-2.1 percent). Prices for food away from home increased 1.7 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 11.3 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 8.8 percent since a year ago, with higher prices in five of the six subcategories. Prices for food away from home increased 15.0 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 12.5 percent for the two months ending in December. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-20.4 percent). Prices for natural gas service advanced 12.4 percent, while prices for electricity were unchanged for the same period.

Energy prices advanced 5.7 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (5.9 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service increased 11.9 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 0.9 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.9 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for household furnishings and operations (3.2 percent) and shelter (2.2 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-5.1 percent) and apparel (-2.0 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 8.1 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (10.7 percent) and recreation (6.9 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases for used cars and trucks (-9.6 percent) and apparel (-1.2 percent).

Table A. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2018		2019		2020		2021		2022
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	0.8	3.3	0.7	2.7	1.0	2.5	1.2	1.7	1.7	8.1
April	0.8	3.3	0.5	2.4	-0.6	1.3	1.1	3.4	2.1	9.1
June	0.8	3.3	0.7	2.3	0.2	0.9	2.2	5.5	3.2	10.1
August	-0.3	3.1	0.6	3.2	1.4	1.6	1.1	5.2	0.0	9.0
October	0.4	3.1	-0.6	2.2	-0.1	2.1	1.1	6.5	1.0	8.9
December	0.2	2.8	-0.3	2.2	-0.4	1.4	0.6	7.6	0.1	8.4

The February 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Seattle area is scheduled to be released on March 14, 2023.

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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties in the State of Washington.

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

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes				Percent change from-
	Historical data	Oct. 2022	Nov. 2022	Dec. 2022	Dec. 2021	Oct. 2022	Nov. 2022
Expenditure category
All items		330.173	-	330.489	8.4	0.1	-
All items (1967=100)		1,006.496	-	1,007.460	-	-	-
Food and beverages		347.915	-	350.036	10.7	0.6	-
Food		351.451	-	354.184	11.3	0.8	-
Food at home		314.223	313.288	314.608	8.8	0.1	0.4
Cereals and bakery products		349.064	-	360.165	17.8	3.2	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		289.002	-	282.985	0.0	-2.1	-
Dairy and related products		273.026	-	276.227	15.9	1.2	-
Fruits and vegetables		485.231	-	490.141	6.0	1.0	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		401.924	-	404.313	11.9	0.6	-
Other food at home		251.283	-	249.910	11.5	-0.5	-
Food away from home		410.518	-	417.676	15.0	1.7	-
Alcoholic beverages		304.309	-	299.740	4.1	-1.5	-
Housing		384.486	-	393.061	9.4	2.2	-
Shelter		440.790	448.717	450.460	10.7	2.2	0.4
Rent of primary residence(2)		444.072	450.014	452.639	9.1	1.9	0.6
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)		462.468	469.960	474.008	11.0	2.5	0.9
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)		462.468	469.960	474.008	11.0	2.5	0.9
Fuels and utilities		303.764	-	307.204	5.0	1.1	-
Household energy		271.050	278.417	275.674	4.2	1.7	-1.0
Energy services(2)		313.009	322.431	322.431	3.6	3.0	0.0
Electricity(2)		336.000	336.000	336.000	0.9	0.0	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service(2)		188.279	211.701	211.701	11.9	12.4	0.0
Household furnishings and operations		217.916	-	224.934	3.3	3.2	-
Apparel		128.105	-	125.508	-1.2	-2.0	-
Transportation		303.431	-	285.623	11.0	-5.9	-
Private transportation		318.513	-	299.263	10.1	-6.0	-
New and used motor vehicles(4)		126.833	-	124.161	0.3	-2.1	-
New vehicles(1)		220.058	-	220.509	4.1	0.2	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		456.994	-	433.491	-9.6	-5.1	-
Motor fuel		586.242	537.391	468.805	6.8	-20.0	-12.8
Gasoline (all types)		597.396	545.997	475.340	5.9	-20.4	-12.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		649.619	593.175	514.752	5.9	-20.8	-13.2
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		469.675	430.582	379.005	6.1	-19.3	-12.0
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		545.156	500.145	441.171	5.9	-19.1	-11.8
Medical care		432.413	-	431.457	2.3	-0.2	-
Recreation(6)		115.084	-	116.600	6.9	1.3	-
Education and communication(6)		150.499	-	150.296	2.6	-0.1	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		-	-	-	-	-	-
Other goods and services		480.341	-	-	-	-	-
Commodity and service group
All items		330.173	-	330.489	8.4	0.1	-
Commodities		243.628	-	239.014	5.8	-1.9	-
Commodities less food & beverages		193.930	-	187.076	2.7	-3.5	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		233.647	-	216.686	4.4	-7.3	-
Durables		154.903	-	155.063	1.2	0.1	-
Services		409.561	-	414.626	9.9	1.2	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		325.826	-	326.206	8.8	0.1	-
All items less shelter		287.282	-	284.119	7.1	-1.1	-
Commodities less food		198.299	-	191.476	2.7	-3.4	-
Nondurables		288.609	-	280.607	8.1	-2.8	-
Nondurables less food		239.856	-	223.676	4.4	-6.7	-
Services less rent of shelter(3)		380.983	-	380.871	8.7	0.0	-
Services less medical care services		403.496	-	409.149	10.7	1.4	-
Energy		435.190	415.598	380.808	5.7	-12.5	-8.4
All items less energy		328.490	-	331.390	8.6	0.9	-
All items less food and energy		324.871	-	327.795	8.1	0.9	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a November 1977=100 base. (2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (3) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (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.
- Data not available NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.