The Cleveland-Akron, Ohio, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.6 percent from July to September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that food prices edged down 0.1 percent and energy costs were up 5.1 percent over the bi-monthly period. The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.3 percent over the past two months. Within this last category, costs were higher for apparel and recreation. (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 1.8 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index advanced 14.4 percent over the year primarily due to an increase in the gasoline and electricity indexes. The all items less food and energy index was 1.1 percent higher over the past 12 months. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices edged down 0.1 percent from July to September. Between the food index’s two components, prices for food at home (groceries) were down 0.5 percent, while prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) were up 0.5 percent over the recent two-month period.

From September 2016 to September 2017 overall food prices were unchanged. The index for food at home was down 0.9 percent, while the food away from home index rose 1.3 percent compared to September a year ago.

Energy

The energy index increased 5.1 percent from July to September. A 15.7-percent increase in gasoline prices more than offset a 2.9-percent drop in the electricity index and 2.3- percent drop in the utility (piped) gas service index.

Over the year, the energy index increased 14.4 percent. Gasoline prices rose 17.6 percent, the electricity index rose 16.2 percent, and the utility (piped) gas service index rose 3.6 percent compared to the previous September.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy was up 0.3 percent from July to September. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for apparel (5.8 percent) and recreation (1.6 percent) over the two-month period.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.1 percent. An annual increase in the shelter index (2.1 percent) was the major contributing factor over the past 12 months.

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

Month	2013		2014		2015		2016		2017
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
January	0.2	1.5	0.3	1.1	-0.7	0.5	-0.1	0.1	0.7	1.6
March	0.9	1.0	1.6	1.9	0.9	-0.2	0.5	-0.2	0.3	1.3
May	0.4	1.5	0.2	1.7	0.4	-0.1	0.9	0.3	0.1	0.5
July	0.7	2.2	0.5	1.4	0.9	0.4	0.0	-0.6	0.2	0.7
September	-0.4	0.7	-0.5	1.3	-1.4	-0.4	-0.5	0.3	0.6	1.8
November	-0.7	1.0	-0.6	1.5	-0.5	-0.4	-0.1	0.8

The November 2017 Consumer Price Index for Cleveland is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, December 13, 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.