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News Release Information

21-2083-CHI
Friday, December 10, 2021

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

Consumer Price Index, Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington — November 2021

Area prices were up 1.0 percent over the past two months, up 6.9 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 1.0 percent for the two months ending in November 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that the food index decreased 0.2 percent, and the energy index fell 0.9 percent from September to November. The all items less food and energy index rose 1.3 percent over the past two months. Among the indexes within the all items less food and energy category, prices were higher for shelter and new and used motor vehicles. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 6.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy rose 5.0 percent over the year. Energy prices increased 41.4 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. Food prices advanced 5.6 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices decreased 0.2 percent for the two months ending in November. Prices for food at home (groceries) decreased 1.4 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 1.4 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 5.6 percent. Prices for food at home rose 6.1 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home advanced 5.0 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 0.9 percent for the two months ending in November. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for electricity (-10.2 percent). Prices for gasoline increased 4.5 percent, while prices for utility (piped) gas service decreased 5.3 percent for the same period.

Energy prices increased 41.4 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (65.3 percent). Prices paid for utility (piped) gas service rose 52.4 percent, and prices for electricity were up 0.5 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.3 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for shelter (2.0 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (2.4 percent) contributed to the gain. A 0.8 percent decline in the apparel index only partially offset these increases.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 5.0 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (5.1 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (20.1 percent).

Table A. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month2018201920202021
2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month

January

0.30.41.40.63.00.41.6

March

0.51.42.3-0.31.21.13.0

May

1.01.02.3-0.10.01.44.6

July

0.30.32.2-0.1-0.31.76.5

September

0.3-0.21.72.11.91.15.4

November

-1.21.3-0.22.8-0.41.71.06.9

The January 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington area is scheduled to be released on February 10, 2022.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on November 2021 Consumer Price Index Data

Data collection by personal visit for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) program has been suspended since March 16, 2020. When possible, data normally collected by personal visit were collected either online or by phone. Additionally, data collection in November was affected by the temporary closing or limited operations of certain types of establishments. These factors resulted in an increase in the number of prices considered temporarily unavailable and imputed.

While the CPI program attempted to collect as much data as possible, many indexes are based on smaller amounts of collected prices than usual, and a small number of indexes that are normally published were not published this month. Additional information is available at www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-consumer-price-index.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 93 percent of the total U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. 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 75 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 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; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000.  Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods available on the internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/.

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-Bloomington, MN-WI, Core Based Statistical Area covered in this release is comprised of Anoka, Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, Isanti, LeSueur, Mille Lacs, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne, Sibley, Washington, and Wright Counties in Minnesota; 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 and percent changes for selected periods
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

IndexesPercent change from-
Sep.
2021
Oct.
2021
Nov.
2021
Nov.
2020
Sep.
2021
Oct.
2021

Expenditure category

All items

270.240-272.8596.91.0-

All items (1967=100)

849.235-857.466---

Food and beverages

311.377-310.9875.6-0.1-

Food

299.727-299.0235.6-0.2-

Food at home

270.355269.944266.6036.1-1.4-1.2

Cereals and bakery products

282.647-283.3016.40.2-

Meats, poultry, fish and eggs

314.034-305.22910.0-2.8-

Dairy and related products

298.418-289.8556.0-2.9-

Fruits and vegetables

363.615-358.1943.7-1.5-

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

164.500-163.2483.6-0.8-

Other food at home

211.111-210.2395.3-0.4-

Food away from home

341.092-345.7975.01.4-

Alcoholic beverages

410.064-414.3425.81.0-

Housing

257.390-259.9735.71.0-

Shelter

299.251301.767305.1345.12.01.1

Rent of primary residence(2)

307.303308.342309.8932.90.80.5

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)

317.550319.671320.7833.91.00.3

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)(3)

317.550319.671320.7833.91.00.3

Fuels and utilities

261.046-246.22216.0-5.7-

Household energy

241.925246.452224.73120.1-7.1-8.8

Energy services(2)

245.850248.731225.95618.7-8.1-9.2

Electricity(2)

289.100266.053259.5250.5-10.2-2.5

Utility (piped) gas service(2)

212.971240.550201.60552.4-5.3-16.2

Household furnishings and operations

135.622-135.6433.60.0-

Apparel

144.412-143.2304.9-0.8-

Transportation

224.272-232.41422.93.6-

Private transportation

217.488-222.12324.12.1-

New and used motor vehicles(4)

111.220-113.85620.12.4-

New vehicles(1)

176.901-179.76013.51.6-

Used cars and trucks(1)

376.549-396.24130.95.2-

Motor fuel

247.179252.590258.57264.64.62.4

Gasoline (all types)

248.446253.742259.62665.34.52.3

Gasoline, unleaded regular(5)

249.198254.635260.61266.64.62.3

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)

247.161251.476257.14755.84.02.3

Gasoline, unleaded premium(5)

303.631308.556314.72252.23.72.0

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

511.335-507.6823.3-0.7-

Medical care

599.223-603.0322.40.6-

Recreation(4)

133.251-133.4590.20.2-

Education and communication(4)

141.731-140.1281.1-1.1-

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)

1,178.869-1,178.8694.50.0-

Other goods and services

408.665-418.7215.62.5-

Commodity and service group

All items

270.240-272.8596.91.0-

Commodities

206.267-207.8559.90.8-

Commodities less food and beverages

159.807-161.87712.61.3-

Nondurables less food and beverages

208.844-211.65315.41.3-

Durables

117.268-118.7169.41.2-

Services

326.848-330.4095.11.1-

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

255.358-257.9147.31.0-

All items less shelter

258.899-260.1417.80.5-

Commodities less food

168.768-170.93312.31.3-

Nondurables

256.907-258.41010.20.6-

Nondurables less food

222.527-225.46414.61.3-

Services less rent of shelter(3)

372.297-372.6995.00.1-

Services less medical care services

301.604-305.0525.31.1-

Energy

248.034253.091245.74241.4-0.9-2.9

All items less energy

277.458-280.5165.11.1-

All items less food and energy

274.281-277.8825.01.3-

Footnotes
(1) Index on an April 1978=100 base.
(2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator.
(3) Index on a December 1982=100 base.
(4) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
(5) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(6) Index on a December 1993=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: Friday, December 10, 2021