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News Release Information

21-883-ATL
Wednesday, May 12, 2021

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

Consumer Price Index, Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell — April 2021

Area prices up 6.0 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell increased 1.6 percent from February to April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.4 percent since February, while the energy index advanced 6.6 percent. In contrast, the food index edged down 0.2 percent over the bi-monthly period. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The all items CPI-U advanced 6.0 percent for the 12 months ending in April. The index for all items less food and energy increased 5.0 percent over the past year, while the energy index jumped sharply, up 30.0 percent over the last 12 months. The food index declined 0.2 percent over the past year. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index edged down 0.2 percent from February to April, reflecting declines in the food at home (-0.2 percent) and food away from home (-0.1 percent) indexes.

The food index declined 0.2 percent for the 12 months ending in April, led by a 0.5-percent decline in the food at home index. The food away from home index was unchanged over the year.

Energy

The energy index rose 6.6 percent from February to April, reflecting a 14.1-percent increase in the gasoline index. The electricity index was unchanged over the bi-monthly period.

The energy index jumped 30.0 percent for the 12 months ending in April, led by a 70.5-percent spike in the gasoline index. The electricity index also increased over the past year, up 1.8 percent.  

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.4 percent from February to April. Among the indexes to increase over the bi-monthly period include used cars and trucks (12.9 percent) and shelter (1.0 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 5.0 percent for the 12 months ending in April. Several indexes contributed to the increase, most notably shelter (4.0 percent) and used cars and trucks (20.0 percent).

Table A. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month20172018201920202021
2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month

February

1.23.51.23.31.21.30.82.91.62.4

April

0.63.20.22.81.42.5-1.8-0.31.66.0

June

1.33.21.22.8-0.11.11.10.9

August

0.83.50.32.21.32.21.20.7

October

-0.33.2-1.01.6-0.23.00.31.2

December

-0.43.2-0.61.4-0.33.30.11.6

The Consumer Price Index for May 2021 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, June 10, 2021.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Impact on April 2021 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/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-consumer-price-index.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 6,000 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; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000.  Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods 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 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.
2021
Mar.
2021
Apr.
2021
Apr.
2020
Feb.
2021
Mar.
2021

Expenditure category

All Items

252.972-257.0746.01.6-

All items (1967=100)

762.886-775.257---

Food and beverages

266.880-266.6040.2-0.1-

Food

279.677-279.159-0.2-0.2-

Food at home

259.451259.446258.869-0.5-0.2-0.2

Cereals and bakery products

224.593-220.704-4.5-1.7-

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

288.545-296.3221.52.7-

Dairy and related products

248.858-237.900-3.5-4.4-

Fruits and vegetables

304.271-306.9511.20.9-

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

265.546-266.113-0.20.2-

Other food at home

224.443-220.790-0.4-1.6-

Food away from home

312.861-312.4080.0-0.1-

Alcoholic beverages

153.885-155.5787.51.1-

Housing

264.770-267.0913.90.9-

Shelter

294.193295.014297.0644.01.00.7

Rent of primary residence

310.509309.609310.3184.3-0.10.2

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)

288.956289.221290.0593.30.40.3

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)

288.956289.221290.0593.30.40.3

Fuels and utilities

310.272-308.9803.4-0.4-

Household energy

266.585266.353265.1493.6-0.5-0.5

Energy Services

265.069264.820263.5983.6-0.6-0.5

Electricity

223.852223.852223.8521.80.00.0

Utility (piped) gas service

------

Household furnishings and operations

131.090-133.1573.61.6-

Apparel

144.205-140.6438.8-2.5-

Transportation

207.920-224.54623.18.0-

Private transportation

211.048-226.49124.07.3-

New and used motor vehicles(3)

106.392-----

New vehicles(1)

219.851-----

Used cars and trucks(1)

225.694-254.89220.012.9-

Motor fuel

209.429237.099238.88769.814.10.8

Gasoline (all types)

208.046235.576237.33770.514.10.7

Unleaded regular(4)

203.580230.720232.31772.814.10.7

Unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

259.786291.246296.03658.414.01.6

Unleaded premium(4)

227.150255.807258.46555.113.81.0

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

1,249.058-1,285.82817.52.9-

Medical Care

489.980-488.349-0.2-0.3-

Recreation(3)

88.684-90.1394.21.6-

Education and communication(3)

140.869-141.0182.80.1-

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

1,509.959-1,509.9593.30.0-

Other goods and services

413.090-404.8522.1-2.0-

Commodity and service group

All Items

252.972-257.0746.01.6-

Commodities

183.235-187.9658.42.6-

Commodities less food & beverages

146.596-152.77413.74.2-

Nondurables less food & beverages

184.936-192.41518.14.0-

Durables

109.234-114.0499.24.4-

Services

318.785-322.1244.61.0-

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

240.492-244.8336.61.8-

All items less shelter

239.863-244.5156.91.9-

Commodities less food

146.463-152.46513.54.1-

Nondurables

220.672-224.7178.01.8-

Nondurables less food

181.366-188.33817.33.8-

Services less rent of shelter(2)

361.402-365.4665.11.1-

Services less medical care services

300.452-304.1414.81.2-

Energy

215.830229.594229.98930.06.60.2

All items less energy

256.652-259.7374.21.2-

All items less food and energy

253.460-257.0975.01.4-

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: Wednesday, May 12, 2021