FOR TECHNICAL INFORMATION: Stephen B. Reed (202) USDL CPI QUICKLINE: (202) TRANSMISSION OF. Seasonally adjusted

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1 News United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C FOR TECHNICAL INFORMATION: Stephen B. Reed (202) USDL CPI QUICKLINE: (202) TRANSMISSION OF FOR CURRENT AND HISTORICAL MATERIAL IN THIS INFORMATION: (202) RELEASE IS EMBARGOED MEDIA CONTACT: (202) UNTIL 8:30 A.M. (EST) INTERNET ADDRESS: Wednesday, November 19, CONSUMER PRICE INDEX: OCTOBER The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) decreased 1.0 percent in October, before seasonal adjustment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The October level of ( =100) was 3.7 percent higher than in October. The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) decreased 1.3 percent in October, prior to seasonal adjustment. The October level of ( =100) was 3.8 percent higher than in October. The Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U) decreased 0.8 percent in October on a not seasonally adjusted basis. The October level of (December 1999=100) was 3.3 percent higher than in October. Please note that the indexes for the post-2006 period are subject to revision. CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U decreased 1.0 percent in October following very little change in September and August. The large October decline was the largest one month decrease since publication of seasonally adjusted changes began in February Compared to a year ago, the October index was up 3.7 percent. The energy index fell 8.6 percent in October following declines of 1.9 percent in September and 3.1 percent in August. Motor fuel prices continued to decline in October, with the gasoline index falling 14.2 percent. Despite the decline, gasoline prices remain 12.0 percent above their October level. The index for household energy items declined 0.9 percent following a 3.4 percent decrease in September. Petroleum based household fuel prices continued to decline, but the October decreases were moderated by an (cont.) Table A. Percent changes in CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) Expenditure Category May Seasonally adjusted Changes from preceding month June Compound annual rate 3-mos. ended 12-mos. ended All items Food and beverages Housing Apparel Transportation Medical care Recreation Education and communication Other goods and services Special indexes: Energy Food All items less food and energy

2 increase in the electricity index. The food index increased 0.3 percent in October, a smaller advance than the average monthly increase of 0.7 percent during the June through September period. Compared with a year earlier, the food index was up 6.3 percent. The index for all items less food and energy turned down in October, declining 0.1 percent to a level 2.2 percent above October. Contributing to the decrease in October were declines of 1.0 percent in the apparel index, 4.8 percent in the airline fare index, 1.6 percent in the index for lodging away from home, and 0.7 percent in the index for new and used motor vehicles. The food and beverages index rose 0.3 percent in October after a 0.6 percent increase in September. The index for food at home increased 0.1 percent in October after increasing at least 0.6 percent in each of the preceding four months. Five of the six grocery store food groups decelerated in October. The fruits and vegetables index declined 2.2 percent in October after a 0.5 percent decrease in September. The index for dairy and related products also registered a larger decline, falling 1.0 percent in October after a 0.6 percent decline in September. The indexes for cereals and bakery products, for meats, poultry, fish and eggs, and for other food at home all rose more slowly in October than September. All three indexes rose 0.6 percent in October after increases in September of 1.1, 1.0, and 1.1 percent, respectively. Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials was the only major grocery store food group to increase more rapidly in October, increasing 1.2 percent after a 0.7 percent increase in September. The other indexes in the food and beverages group, food away from home and alcoholic beverages, rose 0.5 percent and 0.4 percent in October, respectively. The housing index was virtually unchanged in October after declining 0.1 percent in September. The shelter index, which rose 0.3 percent in September, was virtually unchanged in October. Within shelter, the index for rent of primary residence rose 0.4 percent in October after a 0.3 percent increase in September. The index for owners equivalent rent, which increased 0.2 percent in September, rose 0.1 percent in October. The lodging away from home index turned down sharply in October, falling 1.6 percent after a 0.9 percent increase in September. (On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the index for lodging away from home fell 1.7 percent in October and was 1.4 percent below its October level). The household energy index declined 0.9 percent in October as declines in the fuel oil and natural gas indexes more than offset an increase in the electricity index. The index for household furnishings and operation was virtually unchanged in October after rising 0.5 percent in September. The transportation index declined sharply in October, falling 5.4 percent as several major components of the index declined significantly. The motor fuels index fell 13.9 percent in October after declining 0.8 percent in September. (Prior to seasonal adjustment, motor fuel prices fell 14.8 percent in October but were 12.3 percent higher than in October ). The index for new and used motor vehicles declined for the third straight month, falling 0.7 percent in October. The new vehicles index declined 0.5 percent in October. (Prior to seasonal adjustment, new vehicle prices fell 0.1 percent and have declined 2.3 percent since October.) The index for used cars and trucks declined 2.4 percent in October after a 1.8 percent decrease in September. The index for public transportation declined 3.3 percent in October as the airline fare index fell 4.8 percent. (Prior to seasonal adjustment, airline fares fell 4.4 percent but are 10.4 percent higher than in October.) The index for apparel fell 1.0 percent in October following a 0.1 percent decline in September. (Prior to seasonal adjustment, apparel prices rose 0.9 percent in October and were 0.3 percent higher than in October.) The medical care index rose 0.2 percent in October after rising 0.3 percent in September, and was 2.8 percent higher than a year ago. The index for medical care commodities--prescription drugs, nonprescription drugs, and medical supplies and the index for medical care services each increased 0.2 percent in October. Within the latter group, the index for physicians services rose 0.1 percent and the index for hospital and related services increased 0.4 percent. The index for recreation advanced 0.1 percent in October, following a 0.2 percent increase in September. The index for video and audio declined 0.6 percent in October, while the index for photography declined 0.8 percent and the index for toys fell 0.5 percent. The indexes for pets and pet products and services and for sporting goods increased substantially in October, rising 0.9 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.

3 The index for education and communication rose 0.2 percent in October after a 0.1 percent increase in September. The index for education rose 0.4 percent in October, the same increase as in September. The index for communication was virtually unchanged in October after declining 0.2 percent in September. Within communication, the index for telephone services rose 0.1 percent while the index for information technology, hardware and services declined 0.3 percent. The index for other goods and services rose 0.3 percent in October following a 0.2 percent increase in September. The index for tobacco and smoking products rose 0.4 percent in October after being virtually unchanged in September, while the index for personal care, which rose 0.3 percent in September, advanced 0.2 percent in October. CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers decreased 1.2 percent in October. Table B. Percent changes in CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) Expenditure Category May Seasonally adjusted Changes from preceding month June Compound annual rate 3-mos. ended 12-mos. ended All items Food and beverages Housing Apparel Transportation Medical care Recreation Education and communication Other goods and services Special indexes: Energy Food All items less food and energy Consumer Price Index data for November are scheduled for release on Tuesday, December 16,, at 8:30 A.M. (EST).

4 Facilities for Sensory Impaired Information from this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: , Federal Relay Services: Brief Explanation of the CPI The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in prices over time of goods and services purchased by households. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which covers households of wage earners and clerical workers that comprise approximately 32 percent of the total population and (2) the CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and the Chained CPI for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U), which cover approximately 87 percent of the total population and include in addition to wage earners and clerical worker households, 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 CPIs are based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, and fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors and dentists services, drugs, and other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. Prices are collected in 87 urban areas across the country from about 50,000 housing units and approximately 23,000 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. Prices of fuels and a few other items are obtained every month in all 87 locations. Prices of most other commodities and services are collected every month in the three largest geographic areas and every other month in other areas. Prices of most goods and services are obtained by personal visits or telephone calls of the Bureau s trained representatives. In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each location are averaged together with weights, which represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Local data are then combined to obtain a U.S. city average. For the CPI-U and CPI-W separate indexes are also published by size of city, by region of the country, for cross-classifications of regions and population-size classes, and for 27 local areas. Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices among cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period. For the C-CPI-U data are issued only at the national level. It is important to note that the CPI-U and CPI-W are considered final when released, but the C- CPI-U is issued in preliminary form and subject to two annual revisions. The index measures price change from a designed reference date. For the CPI-U and the CPI-W the reference base is equals The reference base for the C-CPI-U is December 1999 equals 100. An increase of 16.5 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as This change can also be expressed in dollars as follows: the price of a base period market basket of goods and services in the CPI has risen from $10 in to $ For further details visit the CPI home page on the Internet at or contact our CPI Information and Analysis Section on (202)

5 Note on Sampling Error in the Consumer Price Index The CPI is a statistical estimate that is subject to sampling error because it is based upon a sample of retail prices and not the complete universe of all prices. BLS calculates and publishes estimates of the 1-month, 2-month, 6-month and 12-month percent change standard errors annually, for the CPI-U. These standard error estimates can be used to construct confidence intervals for hypothesis testing. For example, the estimated standard error of the 1 month percent change is 0.06 percent for the U.S. All Items Consumer Price Index. This means that if we repeatedly sample from the universe of all retail prices using the same methodology, and estimate a percentage change for each sample, then 95% of these estimates would be within 0.12 percent of the 1 month percentage change based on all retail prices. For a 1-month change of 0.2 percent in the All Items CPI for All Urban Consumers, we are 95 percent confident that the actual percent change based on all retail prices would fall between 0.08 and 0.32 percent. For the latest data, including information on how to use the estimates of standard error, see Variance Estimates for Changes in the Consumer Price Index, January December 2005 in the CPI Detailed Report, February These data are available on the CPI home page ( using the following link Calculating Index Changes Movements of the indexes from one month to another are usually expressed as percent changes rather than changes in index points, because index point changes are affected by the level of the index in relation to its base period while percent changes are not. The example below illustrates the computation of index point and percent changes. Percent changes for 3-month and 6-month periods are expressed as annual rates and are computed according to the standard formula for compound growth rates. These data indicate what the percent change would be if the current rate were maintained for a 12-month period. Index Point Change CPI Less previous index Equals index point change.616 Percent Change Index point difference.616 Divided by the previous index Equals Results multiplied by one hundred 0.003x100 Equals percent change 0.3

6 Regions Defined The states in the four regions shown in Tables 3 and 6 are listed below. The Northeast--Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The Midwest--Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The South--Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The West--Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. A Note on Seasonally Adjusted and Data Because price data are used for different purposes by different groups, the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes seasonally adjusted as well as unadjusted changes each month. For analyzing general price trends in the economy, seasonally adjusted changes are usually preferred since they eliminate the effect of changes that normally occur at the same time and in about the same magnitude every year--such as price movements resulting from changing climatic conditions, production cycles, model changeovers, holidays, and sales. The unadjusted data are of primary interest to consumers concerned about the prices they actually pay. data also are used extensively for escalation purposes. Many collective bargaining contract agreements and pension plans, for example, tie compensation changes to the Consumer Price Index before adjustment for seasonal variation. Seasonal factors used in computing the seasonally adjusted indexes are derived by the X-12-ARIMA Seasonal Adjustment Method. Seasonally adjusted indexes and seasonal factors are computed annually. Each year, the last 5 years of seasonally adjusted data are revised. Data from January 2003 through December were replaced in January. Exceptions to the usual revision schedule were: the updated seasonal data at the end of 1977 replaced data from 1967 through 1977; and, in January 2002, dependently seasonally adjusted series were revised for January 1987-December 2001 as a result of a change in the aggregation weights for dependently adjusted series. For further information, please see Aggregation of Dependently Adjusted Seasonally Adjusted Series, in the October 2001 issue of the CPI Detailed Report. The seasonal movement of All items and 54 other aggregations is derived by combining the seasonal movement of 73 selected components. Each year the seasonal status of every series is reevaluated based upon certain statistical criteria. If any of the 73 components change their seasonal adjustment status from seasonally adjusted to not seasonally adjusted, not seasonally adjusted data will be used in the aggregation of the dependent series for the last 5 years, but the seasonally adjusted indexes will be used before that period. Note: 48 of the 73 components are seasonally adjusted for.

7 Seasonally adjusted data, including the All items index levels, are subject to revision for up to five years after their original release. For this reason, BLS advises against the use of these data in escalation agreements. Effective with the calculation of the seasonal factors for 1990, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has used an enhanced seasonal adjustment procedure called Intervention Analysis Seasonal Adjustment for some CPI series. Intervention Analysis Seasonal Adjustment allows for better estimates of seasonally adjusted data. Extreme values and/or sharp movements which might distort the seasonal pattern are estimated and removed from the data prior to calculation of seasonal factors. Beginning with the calculation of seasonal factors for 1996, X-12- ARIMA software was used for Intervention Analysis Seasonal Adjustment. For the seasonal factors introduced in January, BLS adjusted 20 series using Intervention Analysis Seasonal Adjustment, including selected food and beverage items, motor fuels, electricity and vehicles. For example, this procedure was used for the Motor fuel series to offset the effects of events such as damage to oil refineries from Hurricane Katrina. For a complete list of Intervention Analysis Seasonal Adjustment series and explanations, please refer to the article Intervention Analysis Seasonal Adjustment, located on our website at For additional information on seasonal adjustment in the CPI, please write to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Division of Consumer Prices and Price Indexes, Washington, DC or contact Jeff Wilson at (202) , or by at Wilson.Jeff@bls.gov. If you have general questions about the CPI, please call our information staff at (202)

8 Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): U.S. city average, by expenditure category and commodity and service group CPI-U Relative importance, December indexes percent change to from Seasonally adjusted percent change from to to to Expenditure category All items All items (1967=100) Food and beverages Food Food at home Cereals and bakery products Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs Dairy and related products Fruits and vegetables Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials Other food at home Sugar and sweets Fats and oils Other foods Other miscellaneous foods Food away from home Other food away from home Alcoholic beverages Housing Shelter Rent of primary residence Lodging away from home Owners equivalent rent of primary residence Tenants and household insurance Fuels and utilities Household energy Fuel oil and other fuels Gas (piped) and electricity Water and sewer and trash collection services Household furnishings and operations Household operations Apparel Men s and boys apparel Women s and girls apparel Infants and toddlers apparel Footwear Transportation Private transportation New and used motor vehicles New vehicles Used cars and trucks Motor fuel Gasoline (all types) Motor vehicle parts and equipment Motor vehicle maintenance and repair Public transportation Medical care Medical care commodities Medical care services Professional services Hospital and related services See footnotes at end of table.

9 Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): U.S. city average, by expenditure category and commodity and service group-continued CPI-U Relative importance, December indexes percent change to from Seasonally adjusted percent change from to to to Expenditure category Recreation Video and audio Education and communication Education Educational books and supplies Tuition, other school fees, and childcare Communication Information and information processing Telephone services Information technology, hardware and services Personal computers and peripheral equipment Other goods and services Tobacco and smoking products Personal care Personal care products Personal care services Miscellaneous personal services Commodity and service group Commodities Food and beverages Commodities less food and beverages Nondurables less food and beverages Apparel Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel Durables Services Rent of shelter Tenants and household insurance Gas (piped) and electricity Water and sewer and trash collection services Household operations Transportation services Medical care services Other services Special indexes All items less food All items less shelter All items less medical care Commodities less food Nondurables less food Nondurables less food and apparel Nondurables Services less rent of shelter Services less medical care services Energy All items less energy All items less food and energy Commodities less food and energy commodities Energy commodities Services less energy services Purchasing power of the consumer dollar ( =$1.00)... - $.457 $ Purchasing power of the consumer dollar (1967=$1.00)... - $.153 $ Not seasonally adjusted. 2 Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. 3 This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. 4 Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. 5 Indexes on a December 1988=100 base. 6 Indexes on a December =100 base. - Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

10 Table 2. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Seasonally adjusted U.S. city average, by expenditure category and commodity and service group CPI-U Seasonally adjusted indexes Jan. Seasonally adjusted annual rate percent change for 3 months ended 6 months ended Expenditure category All items Food and beverages Food Food at home Cereals and bakery products Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs Dairy and related products Fruits and vegetables Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials Other food at home Sugar and sweets Fats and oils Other foods Other miscellaneous foods Food away from home Other food away from home Alcoholic beverages Housing Shelter Rent of primary residence Lodging away from home Owners equivalent rent of primary residence Tenants and household insurance Fuels and utilities Household energy Fuel oil and other fuels Gas (piped) and electricity Water and sewer and trash collection services Household furnishings and operations Household operations Apparel Men s and boys apparel Women s and girls apparel Infants and toddlers apparel Footwear Transportation Private transportation New and used motor vehicles New vehicles Used cars and trucks Motor fuel Gasoline (all types) Motor vehicle parts and equipment Motor vehicle maintenance and repair Public transportation Medical care Medical care commodities Medical care services Professional services Hospital and related services See footnotes at end of table.

11 Table 2. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Seasonally adjusted U.S. city average, by expenditure category and commodity and service group-continued CPI-U Seasonally adjusted indexes Jan. Seasonally adjusted annual rate percent change for 3 months ended 6 months ended Expenditure category Recreation Video and audio Education and communication Education Educational books and supplies Tuition, other school fees, and childcare Communication Information and information processing Telephone services Information technology, hardware and services Personal computers and peripheral equipment Other goods and services Tobacco and smoking products Personal care Personal care products Personal care services Miscellaneous personal services Commodity and service group Commodities Food and beverages Commodities less food and beverages Nondurables less food and beverages Apparel Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel Durables Services Rent of shelter Tenants and household insurance Gas (piped) and electricity Water and sewer and trash collection services Household operations Transportation services Medical care services Other services Special indexes All items less food All items less shelter All items less medical care Commodities less food Nondurables less food Nondurables less food and apparel Nondurables Services less rent of shelter Services less medical care services Energy All items less energy All items less food and energy Commodities less food and energy commodities Energy commodities Services less energy services Not seasonally adjusted. 2 Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. 3 This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. 4 Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. 5 Indexes on a December 1988=100 base. 6 Indexes on a December =100 base. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

12 Table 3. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Selected areas, all items index All items CPI-U Pricing schedule 1 Indexes Percent change to from Percent change to from U.S. city average... M Region and area size 2 Northeast urban... M Size A - More than 1,500, M Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500, M Midwest urban... M Size A - More than 1,500, M Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500, M Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than 50,000)... M South urban... M Size A - More than 1,500, M Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500, M Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than 50,000)... M West urban... M Size A - More than 1,500, M Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500, M Size classes A 4... M B/C 3... M D... M Selected local areas 5 Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI... M Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA... M New York-Northern N.J.-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA... M Boston-Brockton-Nashua, MA-NH-ME-CT Cleveland-Akron, OH Dallas-Fort Worth, TX Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV Atlanta, GA Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, PA-NJ-DE-MD San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA Foods, fuels, and several other items priced every month in all areas; most other goods and services priced as indicated: M - Every month. 1 - January, March, May,, September, and November. 2 - February, April, June, August, October, and December. 2 Regions defined as the four Census regions. See technical notes. 3 Indexes on a December 1996=100 base. 4 Indexes on a December 1986=100 base. 5 In addition, the following metropolitan areas are published semiannually and appear in Tables 34 and 39 of the January and issues of the CPI Detailed Report: Anchorage, AK; Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH-KY-IN; Denver-Boulder-Greeley, CO; Honolulu, HI; Kansas City, MO-KS; Milwaukee-Racine, WI; Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI; Phoenix-Mesa, AZ; Pittsburgh, PA; Portland-Salem, OR-WA; St. Louis, MO-IL; San Diego, CA; Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL. 6 Indexes on a November 1996=100 base. - Data not available. NOTE: Local area indexes are byproducts of the national CPI program. Each local index has a smaller sample size than the national index and is, therefore, subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error. As a result, local area indexes show greater volatility than the national index, although their long-term trends are similar. Therefore, the Bureau of Labor Statistics strongly urges users to consider adopting the national average CPI for use in their escalator clauses. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

13 Table 4. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W): U.S. city average, by expenditure category and commodity and service group CPI-W Relative importance, December indexes percent change to from Seasonally adjusted percent change from to to to Expenditure category All items All items (1967=100) Food and beverages Food Food at home Cereals and bakery products Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs Dairy and related products Fruits and vegetables Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials Other food at home Sugar and sweets Fats and oils Other foods Other miscellaneous foods Food away from home Other food away from home Alcoholic beverages Housing Shelter Rent of primary residence Lodging away from home Owners equivalent rent of primary residence Tenants and household insurance Fuels and utilities Household energy Fuel oil and other fuels Gas (piped) and electricity Water and sewer and trash collection services Household furnishings and operations Household operations Apparel Men s and boys apparel Women s and girls apparel Infants and toddlers apparel Footwear Transportation Private transportation New and used motor vehicles New vehicles Used cars and trucks Motor fuel Gasoline (all types) Motor vehicle parts and equipment Motor vehicle maintenance and repair Public transportation Medical care Medical care commodities Medical care services Professional services Hospital and related services See footnotes at end of table.

14 Table 4. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W): U.S. city average, by expenditure category and commodity and service group-continued CPI-W Relative importance, December indexes percent change to from Seasonally adjusted percent change from to to to Expenditure category Recreation Video and audio Education and communication Education Educational books and supplies Tuition, other school fees, and childcare Communication Information and information processing Telephone services Information technology, hardware and services Personal computers and peripheral equipment Other goods and services Tobacco and smoking products Personal care Personal care products Personal care services Miscellaneous personal services Commodity and service group Commodities Food and beverages Commodities less food and beverages Nondurables less food and beverages Apparel Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel Durables Services Rent of shelter Tenants and household insurance Gas (piped) and electricity Water and sewer and trash collection services Household operations Transportation services Medical care services Other services Special indexes All items less food All items less shelter All items less medical care Commodities less food Nondurables less food Nondurables less food and apparel Nondurables Services less rent of shelter Services less medical care services Energy All items less energy All items less food and energy Commodities less food and energy commodities Energy commodities Services less energy services Purchasing power of the consumer dollar ( =$1.00)... - $.465 $ Purchasing power of the consumer dollar (1967=$1.00)... - $.156 $ Not seasonally adjusted. 2 Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. 3 This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. 4 Indexes on a December 1984=100 base 5 Indexes on a December 1988=100 base. 6 Indexes on a December =100 base. - Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

15 Table 5. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W): Seasonally adjusted U.S. city average, by expenditure category and commodity and service group CPI-W Seasonally adjusted indexes Jan. Seasonally adjusted annual rate percent change for 3 months ended 6 months ended Expenditure category All items Food and beverages Food Food at home Cereals and bakery products Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs Dairy and related products Fruits and vegetables Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials Other food at home Sugar and sweets Fats and oils Other foods Other miscellaneous foods Food away from home Other food away from home Alcoholic beverages Housing Shelter Rent of primary residence Lodging away from home Owners equivalent rent of primary residence Tenants and household insurance Fuels and utilities Household energy Fuel oil and other fuels Gas (piped) and electricity Water and sewer and trash collection services Household furnishings and operations Household operations Apparel Men s and boys apparel Women s and girls apparel Infants and toddlers apparel Footwear Transportation Private transportation New and used motor vehicles New vehicles Used cars and trucks Motor fuel Gasoline (all types) Motor vehicle parts and equipment Motor vehicle maintenance and repair Public transportation Medical care Medical care commodities Medical care services Professional services Hospital and related services See footnotes at end of table.