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News Release Information

21-231-ATL
Wednesday, February 10, 2021

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

Consumer Price Index, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater – January 2021

Area prices up 3.4 percent from a year ago

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater rose 0.9 percent from November to January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin contributed the increase to a 9.2-percent rise in the energy index over the bi-monthly period. The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.4 percent from November to January. Similarly, the food index was also up 0.4 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 increased 3.4 percent from January 2020 to January 2021. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.3 percent over the past 12 months, while the food index jumped 6.6 percent. In contrast, the energy index declined 2.2 percent over the past year. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index rose 0.4 percent from November to January. The food at home index and the food away from home index each increased over the bi-monthly period, up 0.5 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

The food index advanced 6.6 percent for the 12 months ending in January, led by a 10.9-percent jump in the food at home index. The food way from home index also increased over the year, up 1.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index jumped 9.2 percent from November to January, reflecting an 18.8-percent increase in the gasoline index. The electricity index also increased over the bi-monthly period, up 2.1 percent, while the utility (piped) gas service index declined 2.8 percent.    

The energy index fell 2.2 percent for the 12 months ending in January, led by a 6.1-percent decline in the gasoline index. The utility (piped) gas service index fell 13.6 percent over the past 12 months, while the electricity index rose 2.3 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.4 percent from November to January, led by increases in the shelter (0.5 percent) and household furnishings and operations (4.9 percent) indexes.   

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.3 percent for the 12 months ending in January. Increases in the shelter (4.3 percent) and medical care (7.2 percent) indexes contributed to the over-the-year increase.

Table A. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month201920202021
2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month

January

-1.10.40.73.80.93.4

March

1.91.70.22.1

May

0.92.2-0.30.9

July

0.12.11.01.8

September

-0.11.51.43.3

November

0.22.00.13.2

The Consumer Price Index for February 2021 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, March 10, 2021 at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on January 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 January 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 measures 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 U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. 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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, Core Based Statistical Area includes Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas Counties.

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,
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL (1987=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)
Item and Group

IndexesPercent change from-
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020
Jan.
2021
Jan.
2020
Nov.
2020
Dec.
2020

Expenditure category

All Items

236.989-239.1353.40.9-

Food and beverages

248.597-249.2076.20.2-

Food

249.350-250.2486.60.4-

Food at home

256.112256.973257.38410.90.50.2

Cereals and bakery products

280.904-273.9116.3-2.5-

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

242.128-245.6868.11.5-

Dairy and related products

243.702-251.15417.13.1-

Fruits and vegetables

364.367-363.06312.7-0.4-

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials

190.815-203.56418.06.7-

Other food at home

208.204-202.8638.9-2.6-

Food away from home

240.170-240.6201.60.2-

Alcoholic beverages

223.801-221.2161.7-1.2-

Housing

244.368-246.8764.51.0-

Shelter

281.644282.255283.1904.30.50.3

Rent of primary residence

287.705286.811288.7803.90.40.7

Owners' equiv. rent of residences

295.736296.942297.9824.20.80.4

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence

295.736296.942297.9824.20.80.4

Fuels and utilities

211.618-214.6892.71.5-

Household energy

162.748162.748165.9741.62.02.0

Energy Services

160.553160.553163.7651.72.02.0

Electricity

158.191158.191161.5772.32.12.1

Utility (piped) gas service

213.903213.903208.017-13.6-2.8-2.8

Household furnishings and operations

129.271-135.6508.44.9-

Apparel

125.149-124.764-3.4-0.3-

Transportation

198.284-202.378-0.22.1-

Private transportation

202.546-208.2090.12.8-

New and used motor vehicles(1)

113.283-111.3262.0-1.7-

New vehicles

124.257-124.798-1.20.4-

Used cars and trucks

145.378-142.0949.1-2.3-

Motor fuel

209.312229.007248.336-6.018.68.4

Gasoline (all types)

204.146223.502242.517-6.118.88.5

Unleaded regular(2)

194.868214.017232.993-7.019.68.9

Unleaded midgrade(2)(3)

217.403235.066250.9636.315.46.8

Unleaded premium(2)

249.155267.124283.7080.713.96.2

Motor vehicle insurance

585.396-590.0361.50.8-

Medical Care

438.491-440.0267.20.4-

Recreation(1)

122.744-123.122-2.10.3-

Education and communication(1)

133.054-133.8090.50.6-

Tuition, other school fees, and child care

644.253-644.2532.20.0-

Other goods and services

303.175-305.5520.50.8-

Commodity and service group

All Items

236.989-239.1353.40.9-

Commodities

175.783-178.7752.61.7-

Commodities less food & beverages

139.677-143.6390.02.8-

Nondurables less food & beverages

188.866-197.081-2.64.3-

Durables

93.503-94.8032.61.4-

Services

291.163-292.6603.80.5-

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

226.263-228.4303.11.0-

All items less shelter

218.304-220.7692.91.1-

Commodities less food

143.563-147.3160.12.6-

Nondurables

220.310-224.3362.61.8-

Nondurables less food

191.892-199.101-2.13.8-

Services less rent of shelter

297.896-299.2673.20.5-

Services less medical care services

275.295-276.4023.20.4-

Energy

181.634189.077198.414-2.29.24.9

All items less energy

241.235-242.2033.80.4-

All items less food and energy

240.181-241.1623.30.4-

Footnotes
(1) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
(2) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(3) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.

- Data not available.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, February 10, 2021