The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater rose 1.8 percent from September to November, 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 1.7 percent over the bi-monthly period. The energy index and the food index also increased over the bi-monthly period, up 4.8 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively. (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 8.0 percent for the 12 months ending in November. The index for all items less food and energy increased 6.7 percent over the past 12 months, while the energy index jumped 34.4 percent. The food index rose 4.3 percent over the past year. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index rose 1.3 percent from September to November, led by a 1.5-percent increase in the food at home index. The food away from home index also increased over the bi-monthly period, up 0.9 percent.

The food index increased 4.3 percent for the 12 months ending in November. The food at home index rose 4.8 percent over the past year, while the food away from home index rose 3.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 4.8 percent from September to November, led by a 8.5-percent increase in the gasoline index. The utility (piped) gas service index rose 7.0 percent over the bi-monthly period, while the electricity index edged up 0.4 percent.

The energy index advanced 34.4 percent for the 12 months ending in November, primarily due to a 67.5-percent spike in the gasoline index. The electricity and the utility (piped) gas service indexes also advanced over the past 12 months, up 9.0 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.7 percent from September to November, led a 1.6-percent increase in the shelter index. The new and used motor vehicles index rose 3.9 percent over the bi-monthly period—reflecting increases in the used cars and trucks (5.6 percent) and new vehicles (2.0 percent) indexes.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 6.7 percent for the 12 months ending in November, reflecting increases across many indexes, including shelter (8.0 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (16.2 percent). The used cars and trucks index rose 30.6 percent over the past year, while the new vehicles index advanced 12.9 percent.  

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

Month	2018		2019		2020		2021
	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	1.8	8.0

The Consumer Price Index for December 2021 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 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-
	Sep. 2021	Oct. 2021	Nov. 2021	Nov. 2020	Sep. 2021	Oct. 2021
Expenditure category
All Items	251.221	-	255.851	8.0	1.8	-
Food and beverages	255.770	-	258.754	4.1	1.2	-
Food	256.736	-	259.993	4.3	1.3	-
Food at home	264.313	269.446	268.398	4.8	1.5	-0.4
Cereals and bakery products	275.397	-	274.292	-2.4	-0.4	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	285.809	-	296.692	22.5	3.8	-
Dairy and related products	245.070	-	249.602	2.4	1.8	-
Fruits and vegetables	352.428	-	354.156	-2.8	0.5	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	192.495	-	186.269	-2.4	-3.2	-
Other food at home	201.271	-	206.449	-0.8	2.6	-
Food away from home	246.555	-	248.817	3.6	0.9	-
Alcoholic beverages	228.161	-	227.950	1.9	-0.1	-
Housing	259.306	-	263.252	7.7	1.5	-
Shelter	299.414	304.013	304.206	8.0	1.6	0.1
Rent of primary residence	304.944	309.548	312.605	8.7	2.5	1.0
Owners' equiv. rent of residences	314.408	319.343	321.032	8.6	2.1	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence	314.408	319.343	321.032	8.6	2.1	0.5
Fuels and utilities	224.388	-	228.053	7.8	1.6	-
Household energy	176.361	177.482	177.607	9.1	0.7	0.1
Energy Services	173.855	174.893	174.893	8.9	0.6	0.0
Electricity	171.691	172.419	172.419	9.0	0.4	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service	213.569	228.478	228.478	6.8	7.0	0.0
Household furnishings and operations	134.961	-	135.857	5.1	0.7	-
Apparel	133.293	-	134.198	7.2	0.7	-
Transportation	228.836	-	238.469	20.3	4.2	-
Private transportation	238.635	-	249.248	23.1	4.4	-
New and used motor vehicles(1)	126.716	-	131.648	16.2	3.9	-
New vehicles	137.591	-	140.344	12.9	2.0	-
Used cars and trucks	179.887	-	189.931	30.6	5.6	-
Motor fuel	322.254	338.775	349.701	67.1	8.5	3.2
Gasoline (all types)	315.301	331.193	342.039	67.5	8.5	3.3
Unleaded regular(2)	304.699	320.492	331.074	69.9	8.7	3.3
Unleaded midgrade(2)(3)	319.834	334.126	344.698	58.6	7.8	3.2
Unleaded premium(2)	354.414	368.735	380.126	52.6	7.3	3.1
Motor vehicle insurance	614.846	-	620.258	6.0	0.9	-
Medical Care	445.498	-	448.108	2.2	0.6	-
Recreation(1)	124.671	-	130.229	6.1	4.5	-
Education and communication(1)	136.511	-	136.496	2.6	0.0	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care	651.462	-	651.989	1.2	0.1	-
Other goods and services	311.248	-	318.335	5.0	2.3	-
Commodity and service group
All Items	251.221	-	255.851	8.0	1.8	-
Commodities	191.365	-	195.522	11.2	2.2	-
Commodities less food & beverages	158.564	-	163.135	16.8	2.9	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	218.263	-	226.410	19.9	3.7	-
Durables	104.321	-	106.451	13.8	2.0	-
Services	304.558	-	309.659	6.4	1.7	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	240.786	-	245.496	8.5	2.0	-
All items less shelter	230.998	-	235.608	7.9	2.0	-
Commodities less food	162.050	-	166.479	16.0	2.7	-
Nondurables	237.434	-	242.722	10.2	2.2	-
Nondurables less food	218.946	-	226.312	17.9	3.4	-
Services less rent of shelter	304.776	-	310.117	4.1	1.8	-
Services less medical care services	289.053	-	294.226	6.9	1.8	-
Energy	232.892	239.841	244.049	34.4	4.8	1.8
All items less energy	252.480	-	256.582	6.4	1.6	-
All items less food and energy	252.050	-	256.290	6.7	1.7	-
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.