The Cleveland-Akron, Ohio, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.5 percent from January to March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that energy costs rose 1.6 percent and food prices were down 0.6 percent over the bi-monthly period. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.7 percent. Within this last category, costs were higher for apparel, recreation, and public transportation over the two-month period. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the past 12 months the Cleveland area all items CPI-U decreased 0.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index fell 11.8 percent from its March 2015 level due to decreases in gasoline prices and utility (piped) gas service costs over the year. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.9 percent over the past 12 months. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices were down 0.6 percent from January to March following a 0.8-percent increase over the previous bi-monthly period. Between the food index’s two components, prices for food at home (groceries) decreased 2.2 percent, while prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 1.9 percent over the recent two-month period.

Over the year, overall food prices were 0.3 percent higher. Prices for food away from home rose 2.1 percent and food at home prices declined 0.9 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 1.6 percent from January to March following a 5.8-percent decline over the previous bi-monthly period. In the current period, increasing prices for gasoline (3.8 percent) and electricity prices (1.1 percent) contributed to the rise in the overall energy index. Utility (piped) gas service costs were 1.9 percent lower.

Over the year, the energy index fell 11.8 percent due to decreases in gasoline prices (-18.4 percent) and utility (piped) gas service costs (-21.8 percent). Electricity prices rose 2.4 percent from their March 2015 level.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.7 percent from January to March. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for apparel (6.2 percent) and recreation (1.6 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 0.9 percent. Increases in the indexes for shelter (1.6 percent) and apparel (2.9 percent) were major contributing factors. In contrast, recreation prices were down 2.0 percent over the past 12 months.

Table A. Cleveland CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2012		2013		2014		2015		2016
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
January	0.4	2.1	0.2	1.5	0.3	1.1	-0.7	0.5	-0.1	0.1
March	1.3	2.6	0.9	1.0	1.6	1.9	0.9	-0.2	0.5	-0.2
May	-0.1	1.1	0.4	1.5	0.2	1.7	0.4	-0.1
July	0.0	1.4	0.7	2.2	0.5	1.4	0.9	0.4
September	1.0	1.8	-0.4	0.7	-0.5	1.3	-1.4	-0.4
November	-1.0	1.6	-0.7	1.0	-0.6	1.5	-0.5	-0.4

The May 2016 Consumer Price Index for Cleveland is scheduled to be released on Thursday, June 16, 2016.

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 89 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 87 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 24,000 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/pdf/homch17.pdf.

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 Cleveland-Akron, Ohio consolidated area covered in this release is comprised of Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, and Summit Counties in Ohio.

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

Cleveland-Akron, OH (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Jan. 2016	Feb. 2016	Mar. 2016	Mar. 2015	Jan. 2016	Feb. 2016
Expenditure category
All items	218.845	-	219.970	-0.2	0.5	-
All items (1967=100)	701.283	-	704.889	-	-	-
Food and beverages	251.969	-	250.691	0.4	-0.5	-
Food	257.113	-	255.587	0.3	-0.6	-
Food at home	250.308	244.358	244.785	-0.9	-2.2	0.2
Food away from home	270.467	-	275.608	2.1	1.9	-
Alcoholic beverages	194.289	-	195.321	2.1	0.5	-
Housing	203.808	-	204.167	0.6	0.2	-
Shelter	236.926	236.025	237.377	1.6	0.2	0.6
Rent of primary residence (1)	235.210	235.751	235.093	1.8	0.0	-0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences (1) (2)	230.668	230.784	231.431	1.6	0.3	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence (1) (2)	230.668	230.784	231.431	1.6	0.3	0.3
Fuels and utilities	189.051	-	189.299	-4.6	0.1	-
Household energy	154.095	154.967	154.359	-6.4	0.2	-0.4
Energy services (1)	152.749	153.624	153.024	-6.2	0.2	-0.4
Electricity (1)	179.662	179.662	181.617	2.4	1.1	1.1
Utility (piped) gas service (1)	101.354	103.261	99.434	-21.8	-1.9	-3.7
Household furnishings and operations	117.134	-	117.291	0.3	0.1	-
Apparel	134.684	-	143.001	2.9	6.2	-
Transportation	188.262	-	190.888	-3.4	1.4	-
Private transportation	189.225	-	191.210	-3.9	1.0	-
Motor fuel	190.884	166.123	197.979	-18.4	3.7	19.2
Gasoline (all types)	188.806	164.274	195.897	-18.4	3.8	19.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular (3)	176.965	153.051	184.130	-20.0	4.0	20.3
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (3) (4)	205.442	180.701	212.200	-15.4	3.3	17.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium (3)	212.173	189.263	217.369	-11.0	2.4	14.9
Medical care	417.852	-	418.152	0.2	0.1	-
Recreation (5)	111.558	-	113.311	-2.0	1.6	-
Education and communication (5)	126.871	-	126.273	0.8	-0.5	-
Other goods and services	412.909	-	417.416	1.9	1.1	-
Commodity and service group
All items	218.845	-	219.970	-0.2	0.5	-
Commodities	186.193	-	187.312	-1.6	0.6	-
Commodities less food & beverages	153.210	-	155.491	-2.8	1.5	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	193.424	-	197.768	-4.4	2.2	-
Durables	108.502	-	109.063	-0.6	0.5	-
Services	251.993	-	253.138	0.7	0.5	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	209.721	-	210.885	-0.3	0.6	-
All items less shelter	213.673	-	215.049	-1.0	0.6	-
Commodities less food	154.843	-	157.062	-2.6	1.4	-
Nondurables	223.005	-	224.405	-2.0	0.6	-
Nondurables less food	193.248	-	197.261	-4.1	2.1	-
Services less rent of shelter (2)	273.765	-	275.668	-0.1	0.7	-
Services less medical care services	239.321	-	240.668	0.7	0.6	-
Energy	169.428	161.114	172.146	-11.8	1.6	6.8
All items less energy	225.655	-	226.645	0.8	0.4	-
All items less food and energy	220.285	-	221.749	0.9	0.7	-
Footnotes (1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (2) Index is on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
- Data not available. Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.