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News Release Information

17-955-CHI
Friday, July 14, 2017

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

Consumer Price Index, Minneapolis-St. Paul — First Half 2017

Local prices up 2.3 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area rose 2.3 percent from the first half of 2016 to the first half of 2017, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that the all items less food and energy index was 1.9 percent higher compared to its first half 2016 level as price increases were noted for shelter and medical care. Food prices rose 1.0 percent over the year while the index for energy advanced 10.5 percent. (See chart 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 1.0 percent from their first half 2016 levels. Within the food category, the index for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 2.9 percent over the year while prices for food at home (groceries) were 0.6 percent lower.

Energy

The energy index increased 10.5 percent from the first half of 2016 to the first half of 2017. Within the energy category, the indexes for gasoline and utility (piped) gas service increased 15.7 percent and 12.9 percent, respectively, over the year. The index for electricity rose 1.9 percent compared to its first half 2016 level.

All items less food and energy

The all items less food and energy index increased 1.9 percent over the year. Among the index’s components, higher costs were recorded for shelter (3.4 percent) and medical care (3.1 percent).

The second half 2017 Consumer Price Index for Minneapolis-St. Paul is scheduled to be released in January 2018.

Consumer Price Index Geographic Revision for 2018

In January 2018, BLS will introduce a new geographic area sample for the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This index will change to a bimonthly publication schedule beginning in January, 2018. The first indexes using the new structure will be published in February 2018. Additional information on the geographic revision is available at: www.bls.gov/cpi/additional-resources/geographic-revision-2018.htm.


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 Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.-Wis. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of Anoka, Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, Isanti, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne, Washington, and Wright Counties and Pierce and St. Croix Counties in Wisconsin.

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 for semiannual averages and percent changes for selected periods
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group


 
Semiannual average
indexes
Percent change to
1st half 2017 from-
1st half
2016
2nd half
2016
1st half
2017
1st half
2016
2nd half
2016

Expenditure category

 
 

All items

232.777235.514238.1522.31.1

All items (1967=100)

731.506740.108748.400--

Food and beverages

271.883273.212274.3500.90.4

Food

260.785262.052263.3221.00.5

Food at home

247.678244.783246.110-0.60.5

Food away from home

280.251287.067288.2712.90.4

Alcoholic beverages

372.357374.311373.0060.2-0.3

Housing

213.268216.294219.5462.91.5

Shelter

248.079251.421256.4083.42.0

Rent of primary residence(1)

250.312254.497260.1893.92.2

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

258.224262.803267.8363.71.9

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

258.224262.803267.8363.71.9

Fuels and utilities

200.078210.385210.3895.20.0

Household energy

178.871190.354189.3095.8-0.5

Energy services(1)

182.471194.405192.5535.5-1.0

Electricity(1)

251.636263.062256.4761.9-2.5

Utility (piped) gas service(1)

121.781134.733137.49312.92.0

Household furnishings and operations

119.599118.250117.870-1.4-0.3

Apparel

127.054131.122127.8030.6-2.5

Transportation

191.730193.446196.4792.51.6

Private transportation

175.422177.603179.9652.61.3

Motor fuel

163.836176.042189.56015.77.7

Gasoline (all types)

164.347176.537190.14915.77.7

Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)

164.382176.841190.61716.07.8

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)

171.425182.633196.37714.67.5

Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)

204.187216.419231.17213.26.8

Medical care

510.252525.091525.8413.10.1

Recreation(5)

124.993125.663128.6602.92.4

Education and communication(5)

138.192137.794138.109-0.10.2

Other goods and services

367.175370.664376.8982.61.7
 

Commodity and service group

 
 

All Items

232.777235.514238.1522.31.1

Commodities

180.860181.617182.9451.20.7

Commodities less food & beverages

140.436140.967142.2601.30.9

Nondurables less food & beverages

176.940180.112183.9574.02.1

Durables

106.328105.408105.216-1.0-0.2

Services

278.725283.298287.1413.01.4
 

Special aggregate indexes

 
 

All items less medical care

220.301222.521225.2292.21.2

All items less shelter

227.236229.728231.3841.80.7

Commodities less food

148.547149.118150.3981.20.9

Nondurables

221.450223.808226.4522.31.2

Nondurables less food

189.720192.895196.5693.61.9

Services less rent of shelter(2)

328.220334.480336.7732.60.7

Services less medical care services

258.423261.871265.9672.91.6

Energy

173.911185.921192.15010.53.4

All items less energy

242.159244.138246.5111.81.0

All items less food and energy

239.508241.592244.1291.91.1

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: Data not seasonally adjusted.
 

 

Last Modified Date: Friday, July 14, 2017