Prices in the West Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), crept up 0.2 percent in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden noted that the May increase was influenced by higher prices for electricity and shelter. (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 1.3 percent. (See chart 1.) This marks the 18th consecutive month in which consumer prices rose by less than 3.0 percent on an annual basis in the West. Energy prices declined 2.7 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.7 percent over the past year.

Food

Food prices inched down 0.2 percent for the month of May. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home decreased 0.5 percent, but prices for food away from home crept up 0.2 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 1.4 percent. Prices for food at home rose 0.8 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home increased 2.2 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 2.1 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for electricity (4.6 percent). Prices for natural gas service rose 3.8 percent, and prices for gasoline increased 0.9 percent in May.

Energy prices declined 2.7 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-6.8 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service increased 6.9 percent, and prices for electricity rose 4.4 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy was little changed, up 0.1 percent, in May. Higher prices for shelter (0.2 percent) led the increase, but were partially offset by lower prices for categories including apparel (-0.9 percent) and other goods and services (-0.3 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.7 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (2.5 percent), education and communication (1.6 percent), and medical care (1.3 percent).

CPI-W

In May, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was  230.555, up 0.2 percent from April. The CPI-W increased 1.0 percent over the year.

The June 2013 Consumer Price Index for the West Region is scheduled to be released on July 16, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. (PDT).

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 88 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 29 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 4,000 housing units and approximately 26,000 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 West Region covered in this release is comprised of the following thirteen states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.

 

 

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Last Modified Date: June 18, 2013