Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

News Release Information

18-14-SAN
Friday, January 12, 2018

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Consumer Price Index, Portland – Second Half 2017

Area prices were up 1.4 percent over the past six months, up 3.9 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Portland Area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 1.4 percent in the second half of 2017, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that this latest six-month increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter and medical care. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, six-month-to-six-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 3.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices increased 7.1 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 4.1 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.8 percent in the second half of 2017. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home increased 1.0 percent, and prices for food at home increased 0.6 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 1.8 percent. Prices for food away from home increased 4.0 percent since a year ago, and prices for food at home edged up 0.1 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 2.7 percent since the first half of 2017. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (4.6 percent). Prices for electricity increased 0.3 percent, and prices for natural gas service inched up 0.1 percent for the same period.

Energy prices advanced 7.1 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (12.6 percent). Prices paid for electricity advanced 0.9 percent, but prices for natural gas service moved down 1.3 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.4 percent in the latest six-month period. Higher prices for medical care (2.6 percent) and shelter (2.5 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for recreation (-1.9 percent) and apparel (-1.1 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 4.1 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (7.0 percent), medical care (6.0 percent), and household furnishings and operations (1.6 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price declines in apparel (-2.7 percent), education and communication (-1.3 percent), and recreation (-1.1 percent).

Table A. Portland CPI-U semi-annual and annual percent changes (not seasonally adjusted)
Month 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Semi-annual Annual Semi-annual Annual Semi-annual Annual Semi-annual Annual Semi-annual Annual Semi-annual Annual

First Half

1.2 2.5 1.3 2.2 1.0 2.6 0.1 1.3 0.7 1.7 2.5 4.4

Second Half

0.9 2.1 1.5 2.8 1.2 2.3 1.0 1.1 1.8 2.6 1.4 3.9

This release marks the final publication of the Portland-Salem Consumer Price Index series.

Consumer Price Index Geographic Revision for 2018

In January 2018, BLS will introduce a new geographic area sample for the Consumer Price Index (CPI). As part of the new sample, the index for this area will be discontinued. The first indexes using the new structure will be published in February 2018. Additional information on the geographic revision is available at: www.bls.gov/cpi/additional-resources/geographic-revision-2018.htm.


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/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 Portland-Salem, OR, WA metropolitan area covered in this release consists of Clackamas, Columbia, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Washington, and Yamhill Counties in the State of Oregon and Clark County in the State of Washington.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals 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 for semiannual averages and percent changes for selected periods

Portland-Salem, OR-WA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

 
Semiannual average indexes
 
Percent change to
2nd half 2017 from-
2nd half
2016
1st half
2017
2nd half
2017
2nd half
2016
1st half
2017

Expenditure category

 
 

All items

251.710 258.055 261.621 3.9 1.4

All items (1967=100)

736.903 755.477 765.918 - -

Food and beverages

232.822 235.531 236.525 1.6 0.4

Food

234.769 237.074 238.886 1.8 0.8

Food at home

215.919 214.855 216.046 0.1 0.6

Food away from home

265.226 272.942 275.753 4.0 1.0

Alcoholic beverages

213.679 220.467 213.220 -0.2 -3.3

Housing

262.228 271.955 278.079 6.0 2.3

Shelter

312.818 326.375 334.669 7.0 2.5

Rent of primary residence

314.295 327.628 332.248 5.7 1.4

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)

325.023 339.175 348.091 7.1 2.6

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)

325.023 339.175 348.091 7.1 2.6

Fuels and utilities

262.894 265.703 268.961 2.3 1.2

Household energy

204.951 205.832 206.452 0.7 0.3

Energy services

251.943 252.429 253.127 0.5 0.3

Electricity

299.251 301.129 302.087 0.9 0.3

Utility (piped) gas service

155.421 153.186 153.366 -1.3 0.1

Household furnishings and operations

105.048 106.024 106.726 1.6 0.7

Apparel

126.708 124.727 123.341 -2.7 -1.1

Transportation

219.120 228.257 231.246 5.5 1.3

Private transportation

223.478 230.249 235.863 5.5 2.4

Motor fuel

215.924 232.403 243.201 12.6 4.6

Gasoline (all types)

217.892 234.579 245.400 12.6 4.6

Gasoline, unleaded regular(2)

214.414 230.677 241.302 12.5 4.6

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(2)(3)

188.367 203.476 212.958 13.1 4.7

Gasoline, unleaded premium(2)

207.417 224.017 234.411 13.0 4.6

Medical care

531.392 548.762 563.254 6.0 2.6

Recreation(4)

109.339 110.304 108.182 -1.1 -1.9

Education and communication(4)

114.882 112.746 113.411 -1.3 0.6

Other goods and services

474.017 474.724 478.280 0.9 0.7
 

Commodity and service group

 
 

All Items

251.710 258.055 261.621 3.9 1.4

Commodities

175.305 177.202 177.421 1.2 0.1

Commodities less food & beverages

147.438 148.940 148.774 0.9 -0.1

Nondurables less food & beverages

181.847 184.607 185.642 2.1 0.6

Durables

110.644 110.948 109.702 -0.9 -1.1

Services

328.749 339.628 346.616 5.4 2.1
 

Special aggregate indexes

 
 

All items less medical care

239.088 244.967 248.096 3.8 1.3

All items less shelter

227.889 231.246 232.849 2.2 0.7

Commodities less food

149.794 151.517 151.049 0.8 -0.3

Nondurables

205.991 208.704 209.710 1.8 0.5

Nondurables less food

183.230 186.310 186.641 1.9 0.2

Services less rent of shelter(1)

353.409 360.250 365.316 3.4 1.4

Services less medical care services

313.836 324.034 330.361 5.3 2.0

Energy

210.410 219.359 225.244 7.1 2.7

All items less energy

258.442 264.668 268.100 3.7 1.3

All items less food and energy

264.916 271.976 275.758 4.1 1.4

Footnotes
(1) Index is on a December 1982=100 base.
(2) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(3) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
(4) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
 

- Data not available.
 

 

Last Modified Date: Friday, January 12, 2018