The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater rose 1.0 percent from July to September, 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 increased 1.1 percent over the bi-monthly period. The energy index also increased from July to September, up 3.9 percent. In contrast, the food index declined 1.2 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 6.1 percent for the 12 months ending in September. The index for all items less food and energy increased 5.3 percent over the past 12 months. The energy index rose 23.6 percent over the past year, while the food index rose 3.1 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index declined 1.2 percent from July to September, reflecting a 3.0-percent fall in the food at home index. In contrast, the food away from home index increased over the bi-monthly period, up 1.2 percent.

The food index increased 3.1 percent for the 12 months ending in September. The food at home index rose 3.0 percent over the past year, while the food away from home index rose 3.2 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 3.9 percent from July to September, led by a 6.3-percent increase in the electricity index. The gasoline index rose 2.0 percent over the bi-monthly period, while the utility (piped) gas service index edged up 0.4 percent.

The energy index rose 23.6 percent for the 12 months ending in September, primarily due to a 42.2-percent increase in the gasoline index. The electricity index advanced 8.5 percent over the past 12 months, while the utility (piped) gas service index declined 2.9 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.1 percent from July to September, led by increases in the shelter (1.3 percent) and apparel (9.6 percent) indexes. The new and used motor vehicles index rose 1.9 percent over the bi-monthly period—reflecting a 6.8-percent increase in the new vehicles index. In contrast, the used cars and trucks index declined 5.5 percent over the bi-monthly period.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 5.3 percent for the 12 months ending in September, reflecting increases across many indexes. The shelter index rose 6.7 percent over the past year, while the new and used motor vehicles index rose 16.1 percent—reflecting increases in the new vehicles (15.1 percent) and used cars and trucks (22.9 percent) indexes.

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

Month	2017		2018		2019		2020		2021
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
January			0.8		-1.1	0.4	0.7	3.8	0.9	3.4
March			0.6		1.9	1.7	0.2	2.1	1.6	4.9
May			0.4		0.9	2.2	-0.3	0.9	1.0	6.2
July			0.3		0.1	2.1	1.0	1.8	1.4	6.6
September			0.6		-0.1	1.5	1.4	3.3	1.0	6.1
November			-0.3	2.3	0.2	2.0	0.1	3.2

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

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	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Jul. 2021	Aug. 2021	Sep. 2021	Sep. 2020	Jul. 2021	Aug. 2021
Expenditure category
All Items	248.811	-	251.221	6.1	1.0	-
Food and beverages	258.873	-	255.770	3.0	-1.2	-
Food	259.895	-	256.736	3.1	-1.2	-
Food at home	272.522	263.420	264.313	3.0	-3.0	0.3
Cereals and bakery products	280.344	-	275.397	-0.3	-1.8	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	286.212	-	285.809	18.4	-0.1	-
Dairy and related products	243.369	-	245.070	0.9	0.7	-
Fruits and vegetables	395.831	-	352.428	-0.6	-11.0	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	204.719	-	192.495	-2.1	-6.0	-
Other food at home	203.509	-	201.271	-5.7	-1.1	-
Food away from home	243.719	-	246.555	3.2	1.2	-
Alcoholic beverages	230.441	-	228.161	2.0	-1.0	-
Housing	254.869	-	259.306	6.5	1.7	-
Shelter	295.672	297.200	299.414	6.7	1.3	0.7
Rent of primary residence	299.327	300.383	304.944	6.1	1.9	1.5
Owners' equiv. rent of residences	309.734	312.042	314.408	6.8	1.5	0.8
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence	309.734	312.042	314.408	6.8	1.5	0.8
Fuels and utilities	214.997	-	224.388	7.0	4.4	-
Household energy	166.308	166.678	176.361	8.3	6.0	5.8
Energy Services	163.851	164.167	173.855	8.2	6.1	5.9
Electricity	161.563	161.864	171.691	8.5	6.3	6.1
Utility (piped) gas service	212.674	213.580	213.569	-2.9	0.4	0.0
Household furnishings and operations	130.458	-	134.961	4.3	3.5	-
Apparel	121.635	-	133.293	7.4	9.6	-
Transportation	225.236	-	228.836	15.7	1.6	-
Private transportation	234.646	-	238.635	17.0	1.7	-
New and used motor vehicles(1)	124.301	-	126.716	16.1	1.9	-
New vehicles	128.776	-	137.591	15.1	6.8	-
Used cars and trucks	190.427	-	179.887	22.9	-5.5	-
Motor fuel	315.776	314.536	322.254	42.0	2.1	2.5
Gasoline (all types)	309.005	307.926	315.301	42.2	2.0	2.4
Unleaded regular(2)	298.520	297.332	304.699	42.9	2.1	2.5
Unleaded midgrade(2)(3)	313.343	312.794	319.834	40.2	2.1	2.3
Unleaded premium(2)	348.203	348.204	354.414	36.9	1.8	1.8
Motor vehicle insurance	614.846	-	614.846	-2.7	0.0	-
Medical Care	448.205	-	445.498	2.4	-0.6	-
Recreation(1)	124.776	-	124.671	-2.0	-0.1	-
Education and communication(1)	135.974	-	136.511	1.6	0.4	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care	649.692	-	651.462	1.6	0.3	-
Other goods and services	-	-	311.248	2.4	-	-
Commodity and service group
All Items	248.811	-	251.221	6.1	1.0	-
Commodities	188.925	-	191.365	8.9	1.3	-
Commodities less food & beverages	153.757	-	158.564	13.5	3.1	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	212.492	-	218.263	14.1	2.7	-
Durables	100.759	-	104.321	13.0	3.5	-
Services	302.129	-	304.558	4.7	0.8	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	238.139	-	240.786	6.4	1.1	-
All items less shelter	229.205	-	230.998	5.7	0.8	-
Commodities less food	157.466	-	162.050	12.9	2.9	-
Nondurables	236.529	-	237.434	7.3	0.4	-
Nondurables less food	213.924	-	218.946	12.8	2.3	-
Services less rent of shelter	304.235	-	304.776	2.0	0.2	-
Services less medical care services	285.916	-	289.053	5.1	1.1	-
Energy	224.110	223.875	232.892	23.6	3.9	4.0
All items less energy	250.584	-	252.480	5.0	0.8	-
All items less food and energy	249.351	-	252.050	5.3	1.1	-
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.