Prices in the Seattle area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 2.1 percent for the two months ending in April 2022, 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 gasoline. (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 rose 9.1 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices increased 11.4 percent. Energy prices jumped 24.1 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 7.8 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 2.3 percent for the two months ending in April. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home advanced 2.0 percent with higher prices in five of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home advanced 2.7 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 11.4 percent. Prices for food at home jumped 13.4 percent since a year ago, led by higher prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (21.5 percent). Prices for food away from home increased 8.5 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 11.4 percent for the two months ending in April. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (17.3 percent). Prices for electricity increased 1.3 percent, but prices for natural gas service declined 0.5 percent for the same period.

Energy prices jumped 24.1 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (36.6 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service advanced 7.5 percent, and prices for electricity rose 2.4 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 two-month period. Higher prices for shelter (2.4 percent) and recreation (0.8 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-4.3 percent), apparel (-3.4 percent), and used cars and trucks (-2.0 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 7.8 percent. Components contributing to the increase included used cars and trucks (23.2 percent), household furnishings and operations (16.4 percent), and shelter (6.3 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in education and communication (-0.3 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
August	-0.3	3.1	0.6	3.2	1.4	1.6	1.1	5.2
October	0.4	3.1	-0.6	2.2	-0.1	2.1	1.1	6.5
December	0.2	2.8	-0.3	2.2	-0.4	1.4	0.6	7.6

The June 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Seattle area is scheduled to be released on July 13, 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 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. 2022	Mar. 2022	Apr. 2022	Apr. 2021	Feb. 2022	Mar. 2022
Expenditure category
All items		310.078	-	316.525	9.1	2.1	-
All items (1967=100)		945.238	-	964.892	-	-	-
Food and beverages		323.276	-	329.850	10.8	2.0	-
Food		325.771	-	333.126	11.4	2.3	-
Food at home		300.701	305.711	306.625	13.4	2.0	0.3
Cereals and bakery products		318.062	-	338.091	8.2	6.3	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		284.022	-	292.396	21.5	2.9	-
Dairy and related products		261.116	-	266.293	15.0	2.0	-
Fruits and vegetables		481.628	-	487.282	12.5	1.2	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		394.834	-	387.016	12.6	-2.0	-
Other food at home		231.194	-	234.879	10.2	1.6	-
Food away from home		362.351	-	372.197	8.5	2.7	-
Alcoholic beverages		291.338	-	289.337	4.4	-0.7	-
Housing		364.755	-	370.237	7.5	1.5	-
Shelter		411.594	419.585	421.577	6.3	2.4	0.5
Rent of primary residence(2)		418.196	420.382	422.926	4.4	1.1	0.6
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)		432.684	434.979	437.631	4.8	1.1	0.6
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)		432.684	434.979	437.631	4.8	1.1	0.6
Fuels and utilities		301.099	-	304.432	5.8	1.1	-
Household energy		266.456	270.552	272.019	5.7	2.1	0.5
Energy services(2)		312.711	312.711	315.379	3.6	0.9	0.9
Electricity(2)		335.081	335.081	339.355	2.4	1.3	1.3
Utility (piped) gas service(2)		189.151	189.151	188.280	7.5	-0.5	-0.5
Household furnishings and operations		224.168	-	214.495	16.4	-4.3	-
Apparel		135.405	-	130.787	4.5	-3.4	-
Transportation		262.624	-	282.203	19.2	7.5	-
Private transportation		276.602	-	288.548	15.3	4.3	-
New and used motor vehicles(4)		125.576	-	125.939	19.3	0.3	-
New vehicles(1)		212.803	-	214.320	18.4	0.7	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		491.088	-	481.039	23.2	-2.0	-
Motor fuel		451.678	523.572	531.473	37.4	17.7	1.5
Gasoline (all types)		460.626	533.611	540.119	36.6	17.3	1.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		499.042	579.489	586.153	37.0	17.5	1.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		365.829	420.202	426.912	38.9	16.7	1.6
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		426.808	489.690	497.003	34.9	16.4	1.5
Medical care		433.191	-	431.314	4.0	-0.4	-
Recreation(6)		108.799	-	109.681	10.8	0.8	-
Education and communication(6)		146.763	-	146.364	-0.3	-0.3	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,740.194	-	1,746.965	0.5	0.4	-
Other goods and services		453.134	-	461.256	-	1.8	-
Commodity and service group
All items		310.078	-	316.525	9.1	2.1	-
Commodities		231.174	-	233.872	14.0	1.2	-
Commodities less food & beverages		186.522	-	187.674	16.9	0.6	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		213.570	-	222.981	14.6	4.4	-
Durables		156.204	-	151.932	20.5	-2.7	-
Services		382.345	-	392.328	6.3	2.6	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		304.640	-	311.518	9.5	2.3	-
All items less shelter		270.678	-	275.776	10.7	1.9	-
Commodities less food		190.683	-	191.747	16.0	0.6	-
Nondurables		266.296	-	274.402	12.4	3.0	-
Nondurables less food		220.172	-	228.831	13.5	3.9	-
Services less rent of shelter(3)		355.872	-	365.951	6.2	2.8	-
Services less medical care services		374.470	-	385.022	6.4	2.8	-
Energy		367.371	404.518	409.167	24.1	11.4	1.1
All items less energy		310.447	-	315.291	8.3	1.6	-
All items less food and energy		308.002	-	312.460	7.8	1.4	-
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.