Prices in the Seattle area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 1.0 percent for the two months ending in October 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the October 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 increased 8.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices rose 11.5 percent. Energy prices increased 22.0 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 7.7 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 1.2 percent for the two months ending in October. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home declined 1.1 percent, with lower prices in five of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home rose 4.8 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 11.5 percent. Prices for food at home rose 9.7 percent since a year ago. Price increases across food at home expenditure categories ranged from 5.7 percent for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs to 13.1 percent for other food at home. Prices for food away from home rose 14.1 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 5.0 percent for the two months ending in October. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (8.1 percent). Prices for natural gas service edged up 0.1 percent, but prices for electricity decreased 0.6 percent for the same period.

Energy prices increased 22.0 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (33.7 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service advanced 6.0 percent, and prices for electricity rose 1.2 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.7 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for recreation (2.7 percent) and shelter (1.3 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-6.5 percent), household furnishings and operations (-6.0 percent), and apparel (-1.5 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 7.7 percent. Components contributing to the increase included other goods and services (9.1 percent), shelter (9.0 percent), and household furnishings and operations (8.2 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in apparel (-1.1 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	3.2	10.1
August	-0.3	3.1	0.6	3.2	1.4	1.6	1.1	5.2	0.0	9.0
October	0.4	3.1	-0.6	2.2	-0.1	2.1	1.1	6.5	1.0	8.9
December	0.2	2.8	-0.3	2.2	-0.4	1.4	0.6	7.6

The December 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Seattle area is scheduled to be released on January 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	Aug. 2022	Sep. 2022	Oct. 2022	Oct. 2021	Aug. 2022	Sep. 2022
Expenditure category
All items		326.796	-	330.173	8.9	1.0	-
All items (1967=100)		996.201	-	1,006.496	-	-	-
Food and beverages		343.058	-	347.915	11.1	1.4	-
Food		347.244	-	351.451	11.5	1.2	-
Food at home		317.676	315.815	314.223	9.7	-1.1	-0.5
Cereals and bakery products		353.151	-	349.064	9.4	-1.2	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		295.740	-	289.002	5.7	-2.3	-
Dairy and related products		279.188	-	273.026	11.6	-2.2	-
Fruits and vegetables		489.192	-	485.231	9.2	-0.8	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		396.774	-	401.924	10.9	1.3	-
Other food at home		253.342	-	251.283	13.1	-0.8	-
Food away from home		391.714	-	410.518	14.1	4.8	-
Alcoholic beverages		292.460	-	304.309	6.9	4.1	-
Housing		383.475	-	384.486	8.7	0.3	-
Shelter		435.149	437.959	440.790	9.0	1.3	0.6
Rent of primary residence(2)		435.210	439.701	444.072	7.9	2.0	1.0
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)		453.620	457.716	462.468	9.2	2.0	1.0
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)		453.620	457.716	462.468	9.2	2.0	1.0
Fuels and utilities		306.492	-	303.764	4.9	-0.9	-
Household energy		271.075	269.943	271.050	4.5	0.0	0.4
Energy services(2)		314.462	314.591	313.009	2.3	-0.5	-0.5
Electricity(2)		338.182	338.182	336.000	1.2	-0.6	-0.6
Utility (piped) gas service(2)		188.061	188.382	188.279	6.0	0.1	-0.1
Household furnishings and operations		231.730	-	217.916	8.2	-6.0	-
Apparel		130.052	-	128.105	-1.1	-1.5	-
Transportation		294.892	-	303.431	19.5	2.9	-
Private transportation		311.865	-	318.513	17.9	2.1	-
New and used motor vehicles(4)		127.788	-	126.833	3.8	-0.7	-
New vehicles(1)		218.599	-	220.058	3.9	0.7	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		488.628	-	456.994	1.3	-6.5	-
Motor fuel		543.603	535.461	586.242	34.1	7.8	9.5
Gasoline (all types)		552.459	544.299	597.396	33.7	8.1	9.8
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		599.563	590.871	649.619	34.2	8.3	9.9
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		437.595	429.647	469.675	32.2	7.3	9.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		508.214	500.233	545.156	31.4	7.3	9.0
Medical care		434.543	-	432.413	1.7	-0.5	-
Recreation(6)		112.041	-	115.084	0.1	2.7	-
Education and communication(6)		-	-	150.499	2.5	-	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		-	-	-	-	-	-
Other goods and services		-	-	480.341	9.1	-	-
Commodity and service group
All items		326.796	-	330.173	8.9	1.0	-
Commodities		243.877	-	243.628	8.8	-0.1	-
Commodities less food & beverages		196.034	-	193.930	7.4	-1.1	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		228.551	-	233.647	12.7	2.2	-
Durables		161.523	-	154.903	2.8	-4.1	-
Services		402.728	-	409.561	9.0	1.7	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		322.165	-	325.826	9.4	1.1	-
All items less shelter		284.764	-	287.282	8.9	0.9	-
Commodities less food		199.994	-	198.299	7.4	-0.8	-
Nondurables		283.606	-	288.609	11.8	1.8	-
Nondurables less food		234.258	-	239.856	12.2	2.4	-
Services less rent of shelter(3)		372.721	-	380.983	8.8	2.2	-
Services less medical care services		396.025	-	403.496	9.7	1.9	-
Energy		414.524	409.945	435.190	22.0	5.0	6.2
All items less energy		325.895	-	328.490	8.2	0.8	-
All items less food and energy		322.523	-	324.871	7.7	0.7	-
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.