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News Release Information

18-403-ATL
Tuesday, March 13, 2018

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

Consumer Price Index, Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell – February 2018

Area prices up 1.2 percent over the two months and 3.3 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell increased 1.2 percent over the January-February pricing period, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the all items less food and energy index rose 1.1 percent and the energy index advanced 4.7 percent. The food index was unchanged during the January-February 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 all items CPI-U advanced 3.3 percent. The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.2 percent over the year. The energy index was up 7.0 percent since February 2017 and the food index was up 1.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

  Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA, February 2015—February 2018
Food

The food index was unchanged during the January-February pricing period. A 0.5-percent decline in the food at home index was largely offset by a 0.5-percent increase in the food away from home index.

The food index was up 1.4 percent since February 2017, led by a 3.2-percent increase in the food away from home index. The food at home index inched up 0.1 percent over the last 12-months.

Energy

The energy index was up 4.7 percent over the two-month pricing period, led by a 6.0-percent increase in the motor fuel index. The indexes for utility (piped) gas service and electricity also increased, up 5.3 and 2.4 percent, respectively.

Over the year, the energy index advanced 7.0 percent. Indexes contributing to the increase included motor fuel (11.3 percent), utility (piped) gas service (8.9 percent), and electricity (0.2 percent).

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.1 percent during the January-February pricing period as increases were recorded for several indexes, most notably apparel (15.5 percent).

From February 2017 to February 2018, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.2 percent, reflecting a 4.7 percent increase in the shelter index.

Table A. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month

February

1.3 1.8 0.0 -0.3 0.3 1.6 1.2 3.5 1.2 3.3

April

0.8 2.5 0.7 -0.5 1.0 1.9 0.6 3.2

June

1.5 3.0 2.5 0.6 1.3 0.7 1.3 3.2

August

-0.1 2.2 -0.1 0.6 0.5 1.2 0.8 3.5

October

-1.1 2.2 -1.2 0.5 -0.1 2.4 -0.3 3.2

December

-1.5 0.9 -0.6 1.4 -0.4 2.6 -0.4 3.2

The Consumer Price Index for March 2018 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 11, 2018.

Consumer Price Index Geographic Revision for 2018

In January 2018, BLS introduced a new geographic area sample for the Consumer Price Index (CPI). As part of the new sample, the index for this area was renamed. The indexes using the new structure are published for the first time this month. 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 93 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 29 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 75 urban areas across the country from about 5,000 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 (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 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA, Core Based Statistical Area covered in this release is comprised of Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Haralson, Heard, Henry, Jasper, Lamar, Meriwether, Morgan, Newton, Paulding, Pickens, Pike, Rockdale, Spalding, and Walton Counties in Georgia.

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
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

Indexes Percent change from-
Dec.
2017
Jan.
2018
Feb.
2018
Feb.
2017
Dec.
2017
Jan.
2018

Expenditure category

All Items

234.107 - 237.000 3.3 1.2 -

All items (1967=100)

705.995 - 714.721 - - -

Food and beverages

252.705 - 252.780 1.6 0.0 -

Food

263.056 - 262.968 1.4 0.0 -

Food at home

244.874 245.223 243.699 0.1 -0.5 -0.6

Cereals and bakery products

216.517 - 217.282 - 0.4 -

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

272.672 - 276.067 - 1.2 -

Dairy and related products

222.371 - 220.510 - -0.8 -

Fruits and vegetables

298.015 - 284.731 - -4.5 -

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

247.020 - 252.102 - 2.1 -

Other food at home

210.086 - 207.851 - -1.1 -

Food away from home

292.265 - 293.792 3.2 0.5 -

Alcoholic beverages

160.317 - 162.336 5.0 1.3 -

Housing

235.883 - 238.080 3.9 0.9 -

Shelter

262.188 263.164 263.876 4.7 0.6 0.3

Rent of primary residence(2)

267.237 268.112 269.734 4.5 0.9 0.6

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

257.708 258.779 259.310 5.2 0.6 0.2

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

257.708 258.779 259.310 5.2 0.6 0.2

Fuels and utilities

272.493 - 279.479 2.5 2.6 -

Household energy

230.420 234.104 237.839 2.8 3.2 1.6

Energy Services(2)

228.359 232.013 235.940 2.6 3.3 1.7

Electricity(2)

193.967 198.716 198.614 0.2 2.4 -0.1

Utility (piped) gas service(2)

280.371 279.813 295.178 8.9 5.3 5.5

Household furnishings and operations

118.677 - 120.186 -2.3 1.3 -

Apparel

128.454 - 148.405 4.7 15.5 -

Transportation

205.467 - 207.980 8.6 1.2 -

Private transportation

206.157 - 208.116 9.0 1.0 -

New and used motor vehicles(4)

107.991 - 104.668 - -3.1 -

New vehicles(1)

236.783 - 224.178 - -5.3 -

Used cars and trucks(1)

206.974 - 208.963 - 1.0 -

Motor fuel

206.712 218.792 219.207 11.3 6.0 0.2

Gasoline (all types)

205.194 217.212 217.574 11.3 6.0 0.2

Unleaded regular(5)

200.192 212.377 212.689 11.1 6.2 0.1

Unleaded midgrade(5)(6)

260.448 273.878 274.495 12.4 5.4 0.2

Unleaded premium(5)

229.209 238.401 239.190 12.7 4.4 0.3

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

1,121.115 - 1,166.517 - 4.0 -

Medical Care

451.326 - 455.512 -0.2 0.9 -

Recreation(4)

84.555 - 85.702 -1.3 1.4 -

Education and communication(4)

132.309 - 130.904 -3.0 -1.1 -

Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)

1,376.088 - 1,360.601 - -1.1 -

Other goods and services

374.219 - 377.644 2.3 0.9 -

Commodity and service group

All Items

234.107 - 237.000 3.3 1.2 -

Commodities

175.890 - 178.788 1.5 1.6 -

Commodities less food & beverages

141.641 - 145.185 1.0 2.5 -

Nondurables less food & beverages

173.109 - 185.005 4.0 6.9 -

Durables

108.988 - 106.862 -1.5 -2.0 -

Services

288.724 - 291.577 4.2 1.0 -

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

222.579 - 225.388 3.6 1.3 -

All items less shelter

226.275 - 229.733 2.5 1.5 -

Commodities less food

141.994 - 145.502 1.2 2.5 -

Nondurables

207.751 - 214.759 3.0 3.4 -

Nondurables less food

170.967 - 182.249 4.2 6.6 -

Services less rent of shelter(3)

333.765 - 338.342 3.7 1.4 -

Services less medical care services

271.470 - 274.328 4.7 1.1 -

Energy

198.847 206.485 208.217 7.0 4.7 0.8

All items less energy

237.638 - 239.833 2.9 0.9 -

All items less food and energy

234.078 - 236.588 3.2 1.1 -

Footnotes
(1) Index is on a December 1977=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 is on a December 1982=100 base.
(4) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
(5) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(6) Indexes 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: Tuesday, March 13, 2018