Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

News Release Information

19-65-ATL
Friday, January 11, 2019

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

Consumer Price Index, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach – December 2018

Area prices down 0.6 percent over the two months; up 2.9 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach decreased 0.6 percent over the November-December pricing period, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the energy index declined 8.6 percent and the all items less food and energy index edged down 0.2 percent over the two-month pricing period. The food index increased 1.5 percent over the two months. (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 increased 2.9 percent. The all items less food and energy index moved up 3.6 percent and the food index rose 1.2 percent over the year. The energy index declined 2.1 percent since December 2017. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index rose 1.5 percent over the November-December pricing period, led by a 1.9-percent increase in the food at home index. The food away from home index increased 1.0 percent since October.

Since December 2017, the food index rose 1.2 percent, reflecting increases in the food away from home (1.9 percent) and the food at home (0.7 percent) indexes.  

Energy

The energy index fell 8.6 percent over the November-December pricing period, led by a 15.0-percent decline in the gasoline index. The electricity index was unchanged over the two months.

Over the year, the energy index decreased 2.1 percent, fueled by a 3.2-percent decline in the gasoline index. The electricity index was down 0.7 percent from December 2017.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged down 0.2 percent over the November-December pricing period. Decreases in the apparel (-7.9 percent), education and communication (-2.2 percent), and medical care (-1.1 percent) indexes were largely offset by increases in the shelter (1.0 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (2.5 percent) indexes.  

From December 2017 to December 2018, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.6 percent. The indexes for shelter (4.1 percent), medical care (9.0 percent), and motor vehicle insurance (22.6 percent) contributed to the increase.

Table A. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month20142015201620172018
2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month

February

1.21.60.30.40.21.61.34.02.63.2

April

0.72.50.80.50.71.4-0.52.8-0.13.5

June

-0.32.40.41.20.61.6-0.22.00.54.2

August

-0.12.40.01.30.01.60.32.3-0.33.6

October

0.42.20.21.10.51.91.02.70.83.4

December

-0.61.4-0.11.60.82.9-0.11.8-0.62.9

The Consumer Price Index for January 2019 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, February 13, 2019.


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 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL, Core Based Statistical Area covered in this release is comprised of Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach 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-West Palm Beach, FL (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

IndexesPercent change from-
Oct.
2018
Nov.
2018
Dec.
2018
Dec.
2017
Oct.
2018
Nov.
2018

Expenditure category

All Items

267.280-265.7312.9-0.6-

All items (November 1977=100)

430.818-428.321---

Food and beverages

262.282-265.3571.01.2-

Food

263.976-268.0061.21.5-

Food at home

251.858252.424256.7010.71.91.7

Cereals and bakery products

266.160-285.6795.37.3-

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

245.621-243.058-1.9-1.0-

Dairy and related products

215.040-221.9781.13.2-

Fruits and vegetables

347.892-344.6251.9-0.9-

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

230.868-252.9350.39.6-

Other food at home

211.218-210.362-0.1-0.4-

Food away from home

285.983-288.8041.91.0-

Alcoholic beverages

239.459-230.618-2.2-3.7-

Housing

277.971-279.9483.40.7-

Shelter

319.132321.230322.3914.11.00.4

Rent of primary residence

311.977313.295313.7303.50.60.1

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)

321.697323.465324.1284.10.80.2

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)

321.697323.465324.1284.10.80.2

Fuels and utilities

177.863-177.737-0.1-0.1-

Household energy

151.202151.141151.065-0.9-0.1-0.1

Energy services

148.355148.322148.332-0.80.00.0

Electricity

145.326145.302145.294-0.70.00.0

Utility (piped) gas service

------

Household furnishings and operations

164.110-160.548-0.3-2.2-

Apparel

143.474-132.190-2.6-7.9-

Transportation

229.165-219.7393.2-4.1-

Private transportation

234.781-226.2574.3-3.6-

New and used motor vehicles(3)

116.154-119.0372.82.5-

New vehicles(1)

228.168-234.1592.92.6-

Used vehicles(1)

291.395-294.7392.01.1-

Motor fuel

254.019235.770216.256-3.1-14.9-8.3

Gasoline (all types)

250.999232.823213.469-3.2-15.0-8.3

Unleaded regular(4)

247.681228.630209.324-3.5-15.5-8.4

Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

244.719234.514215.568-2.0-11.9-8.1

Unleaded premium(4)

267.583257.016238.446-0.9-10.9-7.2

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

882.122-882.12222.60.0-

Medical Care

557.714-551.5379.0-1.1-

Recreation(3)

119.893-119.8982.20.0-

Education and communication(3)

121.018-118.304-2.2-2.2-

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

978.856-978.8562.40.0-

Other goods and services

358.934-358.1412.5-0.2-

Commodity and service group

All Items

267.280-265.7312.9-0.6-

Commodities

207.407-201.958-0.5-2.6-

Commodities less food & beverages

173.798-164.201-1.7-5.5-

Nondurables less food & beverages

213.666-195.379-2.8-8.6-

Durables

129.833-130.7580.30.7-

Services

313.225-314.4624.60.4-

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

254.978-253.6182.4-0.5-

All items less shelter

239.882-235.8572.1-1.7-

Commodities less food

176.356-166.777-1.7-5.4-

Nondurables

240.545-232.391-0.7-3.4-

Nondurables less food

215.291-197.613-2.7-8.2-

Services less rent of shelter(2)

313.464-311.7555.5-0.5-

Services less medical care services

295.934-297.1403.60.4-

Energy

197.322189.128180.360-2.1-8.6-4.6

All items less energy

275.155-275.3363.30.1-

All items less food and energy

276.961-276.4823.6-0.2-

Footnotes
(1) Index is on a November 1977=100 base.
(2) Index is on a November 1982=100 base.
(3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
(4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(5) 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: Friday, January 11, 2019