The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell increased 0.2 percent over the March-April pricing period, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the energy index advanced 3.4 percent and the food index rose 0.7 percent over the two months. The all items less food and energy index edged down 0.2 percent during the March-April 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 2.8 percent. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.4 percent and the energy index rose 7.8 percent over the year. The food index was up 1.6 percent since April 2017. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index increased 0.7 percent during the March-April pricing period, reflecting increases in the food at home (0.8 percent) and the food away from home (0.5 percent) indexes.

The food index was up 1.6 percent since April 2017, led by a 3.4-percent increase in the food away from home index. The food at home index edged up 0.2 percent over the last 12 months.

Energy

The energy index was up 3.4 percent over the two-month pricing period, led by a 7.7-percent increase in the motor fuel index. The indexes for utility (piped) gas service and electricity declined, down 3.2 and 0.7 percent, respectively.

Over the year, the energy index advanced 7.8 percent. Indexes contributing to the increase included motor fuel (14.3 percent) and utility (piped) gas service (4.5 percent). The electricity index decreased 0.8 percent since April 2017.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged down 0.2 percent during the March-April pricing period. Decreases in the indexes for new vehicles (-4.7 percent) and apparel (-4.9 percent), were largely offset by increases in the shelter (0.5 percent) and medical care (1.0 percent) indexes.

From April 2017 to April 2018, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.4 percent, reflecting a 3.6-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	0.2	2.8
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 May 2018 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, June 12, 2018.

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.