Prices in the Phoenix area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 1.7 percent for the two months ending in December 2021, 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 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 advanced 9.7 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices increased 5.4 percent. Energy prices jumped 40.0 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 8.3 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 2.0 percent for the two months ending in December. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 1.7 percent, led by higher prices for cereals and bakery products (4.5 percent) and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (4.2 percent). Prices for food away from home advanced 2.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 5.4 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 6.2 percent since a year ago. Prices increases for food at home sub-categories ranged from 1.3 percent for dairy and related products to 14.5 percent for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs. Prices for food away from home increased 4.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 3.3 percent for the two months ending in December. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (11.3 percent). Prices for natural gas service advanced 1.9 percent, but prices for electricity decreased 7.3 percent for the same period.

Energy prices jumped 40.0 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (67.2 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service jumped 33.5 percent, and prices for electricity rose 11.7 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.4 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for used cars and trucks (5.7 percent), recreation (3.5 percent), and shelter (2.4 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-2.5 percent) and education and communication (-0.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 8.3 percent. Components contributing to the increase included used cars and trucks (34.4 percent), recreation (12.4 percent), and shelter (10.2 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in alcoholic beverages (-3.6 percent).

The February 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Phoenix area is scheduled to be released on March 10, 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; 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-
	Historical data	Oct. 2021	Nov. 2021	Dec. 2021	Dec. 2020	Oct. 2021	Nov. 2021
Expenditure category
All items		157.254	-	159.850	9.7	1.7	-
Food and beverages		160.419	-	163.407	4.8	1.9	-
Food		162.205	-	165.516	5.4	2.0	-
Food at home		158.864	161.562	161.638	6.2	1.7	0.0
Cereals and bakery products		193.179	-	201.928	6.3	4.5	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		199.670	-	208.074	14.5	4.2	-
Dairy and related products		126.054	-	128.444	1.3	1.9	-
Fruits and vegetables		136.467	-	137.813	4.0	1.0	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		127.506	-	124.362	8.3	-2.5	-
Other food at home		154.256	-	156.174	3.4	1.2	-
Food away from home		168.962	-	172.925	4.6	2.3	-
Alcoholic beverages		142.392	-	141.086	-3.6	-0.9	-
Housing		166.729	-	169.414	9.8	1.6	-
Shelter		176.121	177.972	180.280	10.2	2.4	1.3
Rent of primary residence		181.541	182.250	184.896	6.1	1.8	1.5
Owners' equiv. rent of residences		175.387	177.726	179.958	11.1	2.6	1.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence		175.387	177.726	179.958	11.1	2.6	1.3
Fuels and utilities		180.083	-	171.785	10.4	-4.6	-
Household energy		183.333	163.127	171.629	13.7	-6.4	5.2
Energy services		182.855	162.614	171.143	13.6	-6.4	5.2
Electricity		194.055	170.033	179.889	11.7	-7.3	5.8
Utility (piped) gas service		125.822	127.247	128.250	33.5	1.9	0.8
Household furnishings and operations		103.346	-	105.420	6.8	2.0	-
Apparel		139.042	-	135.590	10.4	-2.5	-
Transportation		145.025	-	149.711	23.4	3.2	-
Private transportation		150.348	-	155.330	23.7	3.3	-
New and used motor vehicles		-	-	-	-	-	-
New vehicles		-	-	-	-	-	-
Used cars and trucks		117.928	-	124.595	34.4	5.7	-
Motor fuel		285.585	314.854	318.074	67.3	11.4	1.0
Gasoline (all types)		286.065	315.215	318.372	67.2	11.3	1.0
Gasoline, unleaded regular(1)		287.675	317.898	320.968	69.8	11.6	1.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(1)		297.826	326.101	330.620	60.4	11.0	1.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium(1)		283.623	309.288	312.682	56.0	10.2	1.1
Motor vehicle insurance		161.037	-	161.037	3.0	0.0	-
Medical care		-	-	201.635	-	-	-
Recreation		123.635	-	127.999	12.4	3.5	-
Education and communication		119.285	-	119.081	0.6	-0.2	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care		-	-	-	-	-	-
Other goods and services		157.102	-	160.770	9.0	2.3	-
Commodity and service group
All items		157.254	-	159.850	9.7	1.7	-
Commodities		135.509	-	139.061	12.5	2.6	-
Commodities less food & beverages		122.410	-	126.117	17.0	3.0	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		162.150	-	168.535	20.6	3.9	-
Durables		88.452	-	90.237	13.1	2.0	-
Services		172.234	-	174.086	8.2	1.1	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		154.705	-	157.577	10.8	1.9	-
All items less shelter		147.640	-	149.513	9.5	1.3	-
Commodities less food		123.297	-	126.879	16.2	2.9	-
Nondurables		161.574	-	166.243	12.2	2.9	-
Nondurables less food		160.637	-	166.511	19.0	3.7	-
Services less rent of shelter		167.110	-	166.225	5.6	-0.5	-
Services less medical care services		169.284	-	171.504	9.3	1.3	-
Energy		232.221	233.509	239.842	40.0	3.3	2.7
All items less energy		153.070	-	155.403	7.9	1.5	-
All items less food and energy		151.570	-	153.761	8.3	1.4	-
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.