The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell increased 1.5 percent from December to February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that the index for all items less food and energy also rose 1.5 percent over the bi-monthly period. The energy index increased 5.3 percent from December to February, while the food index edged down 0.2 percent. (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 7.2 percent for the 12 months ending in February. The index for all items less food and energy rose 7.5 over the past year. The food index increased 9.4 percent over the last 12 months, while the energy index rose 0.3 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index edged down 0.2 percent from December to February, reflecting a 2.5-percent decline in the food at home index. Within the food at home index, decreases were noted for five major grocery store food groups, including meats, poultry, fish, and eggs, other food at home, and fruits and vegetables. In contrast, the food away from home index increased 3.7 percent over the bi-monthly period.  

The food index advanced 9.4 percent for the 12 months ending in February. The food at home index rose 8.5 percent over the past year as all six major grocery store food group indexes increased. The food away from home index also continued to increase over the past year, up 11.4 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 5.3 percent from December to February, led by a 13.2-percent increase in the gasoline index. The electricity index rose 1.8 percent over the bi-monthly period.

The energy index edged up 0.3 percent for the 12 months ending in February. The electricity index contributed to the overall increase, up 1.4 percent. In contrast, the gasoline index declined 2.2 percent over the past 12 months.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.5 percent from December to February as shelter (+1.2 percent) continued to increase. Within the shelter index, owners’ equivalent rent rose 1.0 percent over the bi-monthly period and rent of primary residence rose 1.6 percent. Apparel (+6.9 percent) and recreation (+3.3 percent) were also among the indexes to increase from December to February.   

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 7.5 percent for the 12 months ending in February. The shelter index rose 12.1 percent over the past year, reflecting increases in owners’ equivalent rent (+12.1 percent) and rent of primary residence (+13.0 percent). In contrast, the index for used cars and trucks declined 14.5 percent 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

Month	2019		2020		2021		2022		2023
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	1.2	1.3	0.8	2.9	1.6	2.4	2.3	10.6	1.5	7.2
April	1.4	2.5	-1.8	-0.3	1.6	6.0	1.9	10.8
June	-0.1	1.1	1.1	0.9	1.8	6.7	2.4	11.5
August	1.3	2.2	1.2	0.7	1.1	6.6	1.3	11.7
October	-0.2	3.0	0.3	1.2	1.5	7.9	0.5	10.7
December	-0.3	3.3	0.1	1.6	1.9	9.8	-0.5	8.1

The Consumer Price Index for March 2023 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

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; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.