Prices in the Seattle area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.3 percent for the two months ending in December 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the December increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter and recreation. (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 2.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.4 percent over the year. Food prices rose 1.6 percent. Energy prices advanced 2.2 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of natural gas service. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices moved down 0.2 percent for the two months ending in December. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home decreased 0.6 percent, but prices for food away from home increased 0.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 1.6 percent. Prices away from home advanced 4.0 percent since a year ago, but prices for food at home declined 0.3 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 0.6 percent for the two months ending in December. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-2.4 percent). Prices for natural gas service jumped 13.6 percent, but prices for electricity edged down 0.1 percent for the same period.

Energy prices advanced 2.2 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for natural gas service (15.6 percent). Prices paid for electricity rose 1.3 percent, and prices for gasoline moved up 1.2 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.4 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for recreation (4.7 percent) and shelter (0.8 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-4.3 percent), used cars and trucks (-1.4 percent), and apparel (-1.3 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 2.4 percent. Components contributing to the increase included recreation (3.8 percent) and shelter (3.6 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were decreases in household furnishings and operations (-1.5 percent) and used cars and trucks (-1.4 percent).

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

Month	2015		2016		2017		2018		2019
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	0.2	1.1	0.2	2.2	1.0	3.4	0.8	3.3	0.7	2.7
April	0.9	0.4	1.1	2.5	0.8	3.1	0.8	3.3	0.5	2.4
June	1.6	1.6	0.9	1.8	0.8	3.0	0.8	3.3	0.7	2.3
August	0.0	1.8	0.3	2.1	-0.2	2.5	-0.3	3.1	0.6	3.2
October	-0.3	1.2	0.0	2.4	0.5	3.0	0.4	3.1	-0.6	2.2
December	-0.2	2.2	0.0	2.6	0.5	3.5	0.2	2.8	0.3	2.2

The February 2020 Consumer Price Index for the Seattle area is scheduled to be released on March 11, 2020.

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 94 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 75 urban areas across the country from about 5,000 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 (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/homch17_a.htm.

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 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 and percent changes for selected periods

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

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Oct. 2019	Nov. 2019	Dec. 2019	Dec. 2018	Oct. 2019	Nov. 2019
Expenditure category
All items	278.682	-	279.421	2.2	0.3	-
All items (1967=100)	849.531	-	851.784	-	-	-
Food and beverages	278.101	-	277.735	1.7	-0.1	-
Food	280.645	-	280.186	1.6	-0.2	-
Food at home	254.663	253.899	253.181	-0.3	-0.6	-0.3
Cereals and bakery products	301.819	-	302.970	0.1	0.4	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	215.383	-	210.592	-0.9	-2.2	-
Dairy and related products	225.755	-	226.934	10.3	0.5	-
Fruits and vegetables	401.013	-	394.801	-3.8	-1.5	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	296.923	-	295.329	-2.6	-0.5	-
Other food at home	213.991	-	214.756	0.2	0.4	-
Food away from home	320.419	-	321.504	4.0	0.3	-
Food away from home	320.419	-	321.504	4.0	0.3	-
Alcoholic beverages	247.390	-	248.147	2.6	0.3	-
Housing	330.367	-	331.670	3.1	0.4	-
Shelter	382.431	383.475	385.480	3.6	0.8	0.5
Rent of primary residence(2)	391.308	393.437	394.650	3.0	0.9	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	407.103	408.159	408.981	4.3	0.5	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	407.103	408.159	408.981	4.3	0.5	0.2
Fuels and utilities	268.771	-	272.428	3.1	1.4	-
Household energy	238.560	238.949	244.002	3.7	2.3	2.1
Energy services(2)	281.294	281.563	288.149	3.9	2.4	2.3
Electricity(2)	311.850	311.663	311.663	1.3	-0.1	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	149.111	150.295	169.458	15.6	13.6	12.8
Household furnishings and operations	176.246	-	168.742	-1.5	-4.3	-
Apparel	126.699	-	125.011	2.6	-1.3	-
Transportation	224.569	-	221.953	-0.8	-1.2	-
Private transportation	237.087	-	235.463	-0.1	-0.7	-
New and used motor vehicles(4)	97.577	-	97.803	-3.1	0.2	-
New vehicles(1)	193.986	-	194.724	-3.7	0.4	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	316.678	-	312.210	-1.4	-1.4	-
Motor fuel	367.923	383.434	359.459	1.3	-2.3	-6.3
Gasoline (all types)	375.540	391.043	366.383	1.2	-2.4	-6.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	407.072	423.737	396.170	0.9	-2.7	-6.5
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	298.997	312.511	302.839	5.5	1.3	-3.1
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	347.000	361.650	340.389	2.1	-1.9	-5.9
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	576.371	-	576.371	-1.3	0.0	-
Medical care	411.583	-	411.748	3.2	0.0	-
Recreation(6)	97.218	-	101.751	3.8	4.7	-
Education and communication(6)	141.898	-	142.460	1.8	0.4	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,684.599	-	1,696.176	7.6	0.7	-
Other goods and services	417.340	-	418.476	0.5	0.3	-
Commodity and service group
All items	278.682	-	279.421	2.2	0.3	-
Commodities	194.923	-	192.419	-0.3	-1.3	-
Commodities less food & beverages	154.625	-	151.379	-1.7	-2.1	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	193.290	-	189.792	0.0	-1.8	-
Durables	116.895	-	113.970	-3.8	-2.5	-
Services	356.979	-	360.917	3.6	1.1	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	272.715	-	273.484	2.2	0.3	-
All items less shelter	238.980	-	238.811	1.4	-0.1	-
Commodities less food	158.388	-	155.237	-1.5	-2.0	-
Nondurables	233.946	-	231.864	0.9	-0.9	-
Nondurables less food	197.810	-	194.548	0.2	-1.6	-
Services less rent of shelter(3)	334.477	-	339.244	3.5	1.4	-
Services less medical care services	349.235	-	353.312	3.5	1.2	-
Energy	310.855	319.393	308.868	2.2	-0.6	-3.3
All items less energy	279.885	-	280.772	2.2	0.3	-
All items less food and energy	280.017	-	281.128	2.4	0.4	-
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.