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News Release Information

16-2293-CHI
Thursday, December 15, 2016

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (312) 353-1138

Consumer Price Index, Cleveland-Akron-Lorain — November 2016

Local prices up 0.8 percent over the year

The Cleveland-Akron, Ohio, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) declined 0.1 percent from September to November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that food prices fell 1.2 percent while energy costs were up 0.8 percent over the bi-monthly period. The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.1 percent over the past two months. Within this last category, costs were higher for medical care and recreation and lower for apparel and shelter 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 rose 0.8 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index fell 3.1 percent over the year as prices declined for electricity and gasoline. The all items less food and energy index was 1.6 percent higher over the past 12 months. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices were down 1.2 percent from September to November following a 0.2-percent decrease over the previous bi-monthly period. Between the food index’s two components, prices for food at home (groceries) declined 2.2 percent, while prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) were up 0.2 percent over the recent two-month period.

Over the year, overall food prices were 1.5 percent lower. Prices for food at home fell 3.8 percent while food away from home prices rose 2.0 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 0.8 percent from September to November following a 2.4-percent decrease over the previous bi-monthly period. In the current period, the 4.0-percent increase in utility (piped) gas service costs was a contributing factor. The indexes for gasoline and electricity were both down 0.1 percent from September to November.

Over the year, the energy index fell 3.1 percent due to declines in the indexes for electricity (-9.6 percent) and gasoline (-4.0 percent). The utility (piped) gas service index rose 12.9 percent over the year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.1 percent from September to November. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for medical care (1.0 percent) and recreation (1.0 percent). Prices were lower for apparel (-3.1 percent), shelter (-0.3 percent), and other goods and services (-2.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.6 percent. Increases in the indexes for shelter (3.1 percent) and medical care (8.0 percent) were major contributing factors.

Table A. Cleveland CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month20122013201420152016
2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month

January

0.42.10.21.50.31.1-0.70.5-0.10.1

March

1.32.60.91.01.61.90.9-0.20.5-0.2

May

-0.11.10.41.50.21.70.4-0.10.90.3

July

0.01.40.72.20.51.40.90.40.0-0.6

September

1.01.8-0.40.7-0.51.3-1.4-0.4-0.50.3

November

-1.01.6-0.71.0-0.61.5-0.5-0.4-0.10.8

The January 2017 Consumer Price Index for Cleveland is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, February 15, 2017.


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

 
IndexesPercent change from-
Sep.
2016
Oct.
2016
Nov.
2016
Nov.
2015
Sep.
2016
Oct.
2016

Expenditure category

 
 

All items

220.963-220.7770.8-0.1-

All items (1967=100)

708.071-707.474---

Food and beverages

249.587-246.653-1.3-1.2-

Food

254.365-251.196-1.5-1.2-

Food at home

242.376243.301236.988-3.8-2.2-2.6

Food away from home

276.360-276.8742.00.2-

Alcoholic beverages

195.339-194.6711.1-0.3-

Housing

205.611-205.5521.80.0-

Shelter

241.749240.697241.1123.1-0.30.2

Rent of primary residence(1)

238.889239.098240.0272.30.50.4

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)

235.504235.586236.5043.20.40.4

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

235.504235.586236.5043.20.40.4

Fuels and utilities

181.138-183.166-1.41.1-

Household energy

145.590148.125147.747-2.21.5-0.3

Energy services(1)

144.226146.658146.250-2.31.4-0.3

Electricity(1)

155.186156.376155.036-9.6-0.1-0.9

Utility (piped) gas service(1)

114.327118.094118.93112.94.00.7

Household furnishings and operations

116.120-116.449-2.40.3-

Apparel

135.889-131.6231.1-3.1-

Transportation

187.475-189.291-3.21.0-

Private transportation

187.666-189.286-3.40.9-

Motor fuel

216.317221.560216.163-4.0-0.1-2.4

Gasoline (all types)

214.008219.187213.831-4.0-0.1-2.4

Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)

201.201205.979201.206-4.30.0-2.3

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)

231.768237.939229.359-4.4-1.0-3.6

Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)

237.148243.855236.134-1.9-0.4-3.2

Medical care

438.283-442.5398.01.0-

Recreation(5)

118.778-119.9152.71.0-

Education and communication(5)

126.301-126.563-0.30.2-

Other goods and services

420.835-411.785-1.2-2.2-
 

Commodity and service group

 
 

All items

220.963-220.7770.8-0.1-

Commodities

187.946-186.254-1.0-0.9-

Commodities less food & beverages

156.970-155.890-0.6-0.7-

Nondurables less food & beverages

203.973-201.2031.0-1.4-

Durables

106.982-107.232-2.70.2-

Services

254.478-255.7022.00.5-
 

Special aggregate indexes

 
 

All items less medical care

210.985-210.5910.1-0.2-

All items less shelter

214.824-214.800-0.20.0-

Commodities less food

158.471-157.412-0.5-0.7-

Nondurables

226.781-223.938-0.5-1.3-

Nondurables less food

202.851-200.2910.9-1.3-

Services less rent of shelter(2)

273.613-276.8430.91.2-

Services less medical care services

241.547-242.5591.60.4-

Energy

172.983176.525174.340-3.10.8-1.2

All items less energy

227.662-227.3311.1-0.1-

All items less food and energy

223.189-223.3911.60.1-

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. Data not seasonally adjusted.
 

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, December 15, 2016