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News Release Information

20-968-ATL
Tuesday, May 12, 2020

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

Consumer Price Index, Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell – April 2020

Area prices down 0.3 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell declined 1.8 percent from February to April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the energy index fell 14.7 percent since February, while the index for all items less food and energy declined 1.2 percent over the bi-monthly period. In contrast, the food index increased 2.4 percent from February to April. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The all items CPI-U edged down 0.3 percent for the 12 months ending April, reflecting a 20.8-percent drop in the energy index. The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.1 percent over the last 12 months, while the food index advanced 4.8 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index increased 2.4 percent from February to April, led by a 4.7-percent jump in the food at home index. The food away from home index increased slightly over the bi-monthly period, up 0.1 percent.

The food index advanced 4.8 percent for the 12 months ending April, reflecting increases in the food at home (5.9 percent) and food away from home (3.7 percent) indexes.

Energy

The energy index declined 14.7 percent from February to April, led by a 30.1-percent drop in the gasoline index. The electricity index was unchanged over the bi-monthly period.

The energy index fell 20.8 percent for the 12 months ending April, reflecting a 41.6-percent fall in the gasoline index. In contrast, the electricity index increased 6.0 percent over the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy fell 1.2 percent from February to April, led by declines in the shelter (-0.9 percent), apparel (-8.0 percent), and motor vehicles insurance (-11.5 percent) indexes.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.1 percent for the 12 months ending April. Several indexes contributed to the increase, most notably shelter (3.1 percent) and medical care (9.4 percent). Apparel (-12.3 percent) was among the indexes to decline over the past year.  

Table A. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month20162017201820192020
2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month

February

0.31.61.23.51.23.31.21.30.82.9

April

1.01.90.63.20.22.81.42.5-1.8-0.3

June

1.30.71.33.21.22.8-0.11.1

August

0.51.20.83.50.32.21.32.2

October

-0.12.4-0.33.2-1.01.6-0.23.0

December

-0.42.6-0.43.2-0.61.4-0.33.3

The Consumer Price Index for May 2020 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 10, 2020.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Impact on April 2020 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 April 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/bls/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-bls-price-indexes.htm#CPI.


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

IndexesPercent change from-
Feb.
2020
Mar.
2020
Apr.
2020
Apr.
2019
Feb.
2020
Mar.
2020

Expenditure category

All Items

247.042-242.617-0.3-1.8-

All items (1967=100)

745.002-731.660---

Food and beverages

262.629-265.9993.61.3-

Food

273.353-279.8254.82.4-

Food at home

248.498249.426260.0945.94.74.3

Cereals and bakery products

218.983-231.1585.15.6-

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

278.490-291.9465.74.8-

Dairy and related products

240.908-246.4728.82.3-

Fruits and vegetables

289.316-303.435-0.34.9-

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

255.094-266.5885.54.5-

Other food at home

211.272-221.65810.54.9-

Food away from home

312.214-312.3863.70.1-

Alcoholic beverages

166.536-144.727-12.1-13.1-

Housing

258.178-257.1022.8-0.4-

Shelter

288.071286.852285.6093.1-0.9-0.4

Rent of primary residence

297.566297.805297.5204.00.0-0.1

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)

280.802281.181280.6763.80.0-0.2

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)

280.802281.181280.6763.80.0-0.2

Fuels and utilities

299.823-298.9632.7-0.3-

Household energy

256.907256.521255.9633.3-0.4-0.2

Energy Services

255.266254.900254.4753.4-0.3-0.2

Electricity

219.919219.919219.9196.00.00.0

Utility (piped) gas service

------

Household furnishings and operations

125.380-128.5381.02.5-

Apparel

140.572-129.325-12.3-8.0-

Transportation

203.397-182.460-13.8-10.3-

Private transportation

202.565-182.689-13.8-9.8-

New and used motor vehicles(3)

100.825-99.608-3.2-1.2-

New vehicles(1)

210.661-208.022-3.1-1.3-

Used cars and trucks(1)

208.694-212.4340.01.8-

Motor fuel

200.602181.781140.647-41.3-29.9-22.6

Gasoline (all types)

199.016180.251139.161-41.6-30.1-22.8

Unleaded regular(4)

194.139175.318134.477-42.3-30.7-23.3

Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

253.718230.475186.928-37.2-26.3-18.9

Unleaded premium(4)

222.194206.234166.609-35.6-25.0-19.2

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

1,236.984-1,094.539-7.0-11.5-

Medical Care

483.091-489.5219.41.3-

Recreation(3)

84.377-86.4971.22.5-

Education and communication(3)

137.631-137.1431.2-0.4-

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

1,461.227-1,461.2272.70.0-

Other goods and services

398.952-396.4984.7-0.6-

Commodity and service group

All Items

247.042-242.617-0.3-1.8-

Commodities

178.685-173.465-4.7-2.9-

Commodities less food & beverages

142.162-134.319-9.2-5.5-

Nondurables less food & beverages

181.835-162.944-14.9-10.4-

Durables

104.252-104.466-2.30.2-

Services

311.577-308.1012.3-1.1-

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

234.643-229.747-1.1-2.1-

All items less shelter

233.929-228.658-2.0-2.3-

Commodities less food

142.648-134.330-9.4-5.8-

Nondurables

217.070-208.032-5.6-4.2-

Nondurables less food

179.543-160.530-14.8-10.6-

Services less rent of shelter(2)

352.620-347.7701.5-1.4-

Services less medical care services

294.235-290.3351.7-1.3-

Energy

207.382197.793176.956-20.8-14.7-10.5

All items less energy

250.978-249.1821.6-0.7-

All items less food and energy

247.878-244.8211.1-1.2-

Footnotes
(1) Index is on a December 1977=100 base.
(2) Index is on a December 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: Tuesday, May 12, 2020