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News Release Information

23-997-SAN
Wednesday, May 10, 2023

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

Consumer Price Index, Seattle area — April 2023

Area prices were up 1.0 percent over the past two months, up 6.9 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Seattle area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 1.0 percent for the two months ending in April 2023, 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 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 6.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices rose 8.0 percent, while energy prices were unchanged.  The index for all items less food and energy rose 7.3 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.1 percent for the two months ending in April. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home decreased 0.8 percent, led by lower prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (-4.3 percent). Prices for food away from home advanced 1.7 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 8.0 percent. Prices for food at home increased 3.7 percent, with higher prices in four of the six subcategories. Prices for food away from home increased 15.1 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 4.0 percent for the two months ending in April. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (6.4 percent). Prices for electricity rose 1.4 percent, while prices for natural gas service were unchanged for the same period.

The energy index was unchanged over the year. Prices rose for natural gas service (18.1 percent) and electricity (7.2 percent), but prices declined for gasoline (-4.7 percent).

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.0 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for recreation (3.8 percent), new and used motor vehicles (1.8 percent), and shelter (0.6 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-1.3 percent) and education and communication (-0.7 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 7.3 percent. Components contributing to the increase included recreation (12.0 percent) and shelter (9.1 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in used cars and trucks (-7.9 percent) and medical care (-0.2 percent).

Table A. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month

February

0.7 2.7 1.0 2.5 1.2 1.7 1.7 8.1 1.4 8.0

April

0.5 2.4 -0.6 1.3 1.1 3.4 2.1 9.1 1.0 6.9

June

0.7 2.3 0.2 0.9 2.2 5.5 3.2 10.1

August

0.6 3.2 1.4 1.6 1.1 5.2 0.0 9.0

October

-0.6 2.2 -0.1 2.1 1.1 6.5 1.0 8.9

December

-0.3 2.2 -0.4 1.4 0.6 7.6 0.1 8.4

The June 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Seattle area is scheduled to be released on July 12, 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
Feb.
2023
Mar.
2023
Apr.
2023
Apr.
2022
Feb.
2023
Mar.
2023

Expenditure category

All items

334.987 - 338.487 6.9 1.0 -

All items (1967=100)

1,021.172 - 1,031.840 - - -

Food and beverages

355.033 - 356.206 8.0 0.3 -

Food

359.537 - 359.856 8.0 0.1 -

Food at home

320.613 320.629 317.957 3.7 -0.8 -0.8

Cereals and bakery products

377.476 - 369.443 9.3 -2.1 -

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

294.298 - 281.785 -3.6 -4.3 -

Dairy and related products

295.374 - 297.064 11.6 0.6 -

Fruits and vegetables

484.436 - 487.291 0.0 0.6 -

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

411.131 - 414.397 7.1 0.8 -

Other food at home

249.030 - 248.733 5.9 -0.1 -

Food away from home

421.081 - 428.296 15.1 1.7 -

Alcoholic beverages

301.460 - 309.934 7.1 2.8 -

Housing

399.950 - 401.475 8.4 0.4 -

Shelter

456.994 458.342 459.731 9.1 0.6 0.3

Rent of primary residence(2)

462.371 464.440 464.518 9.8 0.5 0.0

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)

478.695 480.252 480.733 9.8 0.4 0.1

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)

478.695 480.252 480.733 9.8 0.4 0.1

Fuels and utilities

322.319 - 325.150 6.8 0.9 -

Household energy

292.154 292.311 294.691 8.3 0.9 0.8

Energy services(2)

342.564 342.863 346.198 9.8 1.1 1.0

Electricity(2)

358.495 358.906 363.653 7.2 1.4 1.3

Utility (piped) gas service(2)

222.311 222.336 222.336 18.1 0.0 0.0

Household furnishings and operations

229.626 - 226.584 5.6 -1.3 -

Apparel

130.382 - 134.690 3.0 3.3 -

Transportation

287.302 - 293.047 3.8 2.0 -

Private transportation

299.920 - 304.925 5.7 1.7 -

New and used motor vehicles(4)

124.409 - 126.648 0.6 1.8 -

New vehicles(1)

222.984 - 224.345 4.7 0.6 -

Used cars and trucks(1)

421.222 - 442.808 -7.9 5.1 -

Motor fuel

476.176 486.706 505.396 -4.9 6.1 3.8

Gasoline (all types)

483.782 494.754 514.512 -4.7 6.4 4.0

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

524.462 536.302 557.879 -4.8 6.4 4.0

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

382.790 391.710 407.643 -4.5 6.5 4.1

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

447.338 457.648 475.343 -4.4 6.3 3.9

Medical care

432.231 - 430.594 -0.2 -0.4 -

Recreation(6)

118.367 - 122.865 12.0 3.8 -

Education and communication(6)

148.628 - 147.538 0.8 -0.7 -

Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)

- - - - - -

Other goods and services

484.378 - - - - -

Commodity and service group

All items

334.987 - 338.487 6.9 1.0 -

Commodities

241.835 - 244.760 4.7 1.2 -

Commodities less food & beverages

189.013 - 192.276 2.5 1.7 -

Nondurables less food & beverages

222.166 - 228.781 2.6 3.0 -

Durables

154.807 - 155.882 2.6 0.7 -

Services

420.780 - 424.705 8.3 0.9 -

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

330.867 - 334.589 7.4 1.1 -

All items less shelter

287.833 - 291.615 5.7 1.3 -

Commodities less food

193.414 - 196.858 2.7 1.8 -

Nondurables

285.948 - 290.184 5.8 1.5 -

Nondurables less food

228.872 - 235.648 3.0 3.0 -

Services less rent of shelter(3)

386.687 - 392.457 7.2 1.5 -

Services less medical care services

415.928 - 420.170 9.1 1.0 -

Energy

393.429 398.686 409.165 0.0 4.0 2.6

All items less energy

335.602 - 338.641 7.4 0.9 -

All items less food and energy

331.830 - 335.286 7.3 1.0 -

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.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, May 10, 2023