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News Release Information

15-515-ATL
Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

Consumer Price Index, Miami-Fort Lauderdale – February 2015

Area prices up 0.3 percent over the two months and 0.4 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Miami increased 0.3 percent over the two months, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the all items less food and energy index increased 1.1 percent over the January-February pricing period. The energy index decreased 8.0 percent, while the food index rose 0.3 percent during the two-month pricing period. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 0.4 percent reflecting annual increases in several categories, including shelter, and other goods and services. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.3 percent over the year. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.3 percent during the January-February pricing period reflecting a 0.3-percent increase in prices for both food at home and food away from home.

From February 2014 to February 2015, the food index rose 3.2 percent, as prices advanced for both food at home (2.9 percent) and food away from home (3.7 percent).

Energy

The energy index decreased 8.0 percent during the two-month pricing period, reflecting a 13.6-percent decline in motor fuel prices. Prices for both electricity and utility (piped) gas service also declined over the pricing period, down 2.0 and 3.8 percent, respectively.

Over the year, the energy index decreased 19.4 percent predominately due to a 32.7-percent drop in prices for motor fuel. Prices declined over the year for both electricity (-0.7 percent), and utility (piped) gas service (-4.7 percent).

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.1 percent over the two months. Price increases were noted for several indexes including shelter (1.0 percent), apparel (5.2 percent), and medical care (1.3 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.3 percent, reflecting price increases for shelter (3.7 percent) and other goods and services (7.5 percent).

Table A. Miami metropolitan area CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month

 
201020112012201320142015
2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month

February

-0.20.91.12.21.02.91.51.91.21.60.30.4

April

0.10.91.84.00.92.0-0.20.90.72.5--

June

-0.10.4-0.14.0-0.91.2-0.11.6-0.32.4--

August

0.20.70.74.50.91.4-0.20.6-0.12.4--

October

0.40.5-0.33.80.32.00.60.90.42.2--

December

0.60.9-0.13.1-0.71.40.21.9-0.61.4--

The Consumer Price Index for March 2015 is scheduled to be released on Friday, April 17, 2015, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).


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 4,000 housing units and approximately 26,000 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/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 Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Fl. consolidated area covered in this release is comprised of Broward and Miami-Dade Counties in Florida.

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
Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

 
Indexes
 
Percent change from-
Dec.
2014
Jan.
2015
Feb.
2015
Feb.
2014
Dec.
2014
Jan.
2015

Expenditure category

 
 

All Items

242.676 243.2830.40.3 

All items (November 1977=100)

391.160 392.138   

Food and beverages

255.263 255.9613.10.3 

Food

257.624 258.3283.20.3 

Food at home

255.697255.040256.4172.90.30.5

Food away from home

263.444 264.1273.70.3 

Alcoholic beverages

223.393 224.0061.60.3 

Housing

243.744 245.5513.20.7 

Shelter

273.285274.586276.0193.71.00.5

Rent of primary residence (1)

265.083265.705267.4935.30.90.7

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

275.600276.317277.5453.30.70.4

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

275.600276.317277.5453.30.70.4

Fuels and utilities

177.095 174.209-0.8-1.6 

Household energy

155.742152.642152.541-1.1-2.1-0.1

Energy services (1)

152.390149.442149.345-0.8-2.0-0.1

Electricity (1)

148.803145.875145.875-0.7-2.00.0

Utility (piped) gas service (1)

211.518211.450203.548-4.7-3.8-3.7

Household furnishings and operations

161.809 163.7453.81.2 

Apparel

138.298 145.521-5.95.2 

Transportation

215.669 208.769-10.9-3.2 

Private transportation

218.636 210.829-11.3-3.6 

Motor fuel

242.314204.210209.286-32.7-13.62.5

Gasoline (all types)

239.383201.718206.761-32.8-13.62.5

Unleaded regular (3)

236.282198.569204.111-33.0-13.62.8

Unleaded midgrade (3) (4)

235.455202.886202.873-30.2-13.80.0

Unleaded premium (3)

253.919217.793219.196-29.4-13.70.6

Medical Care

434.049 439.7502.11.3 

Recreation (5)

113.868 115.4371.01.4 

Education and communication (5)

126.602 127.3441.00.6 

Other goods and services

335.633 338.4837.50.8 
 

Commodity and service group

 
 

All Items

242.676 243.2830.40.3 

Commodities

199.554 197.994-4.0-0.8 

Commodities less food & beverages

166.098 163.293-9.4-1.7 

Nondurables less food & beverages

199.260 193.593-13.1-2.8 

Durables

130.880 131.672-1.40.6 

Services

276.400 278.5552.80.8 
 

Special aggregate indexes

 
 

All items less medical care

234.100 234.5440.30.2 

All items less shelter

226.754 226.198-1.7-0.2 

Commodities less food

168.437 165.724-9.0-1.6 

Nondurables

229.081 226.592-4.5-1.1 

Nondurables less food

200.973 195.622-12.3-2.7 

Services less rent of shelter (2)

289.013 290.2851.50.4 

Services less medical care services

263.919 265.8753.00.7 

Energy

193.608176.080178.104-19.4-8.01.1

All items less energy

248.259 250.6812.41.0 

All items less food and energy

246.476 249.2152.31.1 

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 November 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.
 

Blank: Data not available.
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.
 

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, March 24, 2015