FOR TECHNICAL INFORMATION: Patrick C. Jackman (202) USDL CPI QUICKLINE: (202) TRANSMISSION OF

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1 News United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C FOR TECHNICAL INFORMATION: Patrick C. Jackman (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. (EDT) INTERNET ADDRESS: Wednesday, April 19, CONSUMER PRICE INDEX: MARCH The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.6 percent in March, before seasonal adjustment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The March level of ( =100) was 3.4 percent higher than in March. The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) increased 0.6 percent in March, prior to seasonal adjustment. The March level of ( =100) was 3.6 percent higher than in March. The Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U) increased 0.5 percent in March on a not seasonally adjusted basis. The March level of (December 1999=100) was 3.0 percent higher than in March. Please note that the indexes for the post-2004 period are subject to revision. CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U advanced 0.4 percent in March, following a 0.1 percent rise in February. Energy costs, which declined 1.2 percent in February, increased 1.3 percent in March. Within energy, the index for motor fuels increased 3.6 percent, while the index for household fuels fell 1.0 percent. The food index rose 0.1 percent in March, the same as in February. The index for food at home declined 0.1 percent, reflecting a 1.7 percent decrease in the index for fruits and vegetables. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent in March, following a 0.1 percent increase in February; the indexes for apparel and for shelter accounted for about 70 percent of the March increase. Table A. Percent changes in CPI for Urban Consumers (CPI-U) Seasonally adjusted Un- Expenditure Changes from preceding month Compound annual rate adjusted 12-mos. Category 3-mos. ended ended Sep. Oct. Nov 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 For the first three months of, consumer prices increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 4.3 percent. This compares with an increase of 3.4 percent for all of. The index for energy, which rose 17.1 percent in, advanced at a 21.8 percent SAAR in the first quarter of and accounted for about 42 percent of the first quarter advance in the overall CPI-U. Petroleum-based energy costs increased at a 36.9 percent annual rate and charges for energy services rose at a 7.0 percent annual rate. The food index rose at a 2.5 percent SAAR in the first quarter of. The index for grocery store food prices increased at a 1.7 percent annual rate, reflecting increases in each of the six major groups ranging from annual rates of 0.4 percent in the index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs to 3.0 percent in the index for nonalcoholic beverages. Excluding food and energy, the CPI-U advanced at a 2.8 percent SAAR in the first quarter, following a 2.2 percent rise in all of. While most categories advanced at a faster rate in the first quarter of than in all of, about two-thirds of the acceleration was accounted for by a larger increase in the index for shelter--up at a 3.6 percent SAAR in the first quarter after increasing 2.6 percent in all of. An upturn in the index for apparel and a larger increase in the index for education and communication also contributed to the acceleration in the first quarter of. The annual rates for selected groups for the last seven and one-quarter years are shown below. Percentage change 12 months SAAR 3 ended in December mos. ended in March All items Food and beverages Housing Apparel Transportation Medical care Recreation Education and communication Other goods and services Special indexes Energy Energy commodities Energy services All items less energy Food All items less food and energy

3 The food and beverages index rose 0.1 percent in March. The index for food at home declined 0.1 percent, the same as in February. A 1.7 percent decline in the index for fruits and vegetables more than offset small to moderate increases in each of the other six major grocery store food groups. The indexes for fresh fruits and for fresh vegetables decreased 1.2 and 3.4 percent, respectively, more than offsetting a 0.3 percent increase in the index for processed fruits and vegetables. Each of the other five major grocery store food groups turned up in March. The index for nonalcoholic beverages registered the largest increase--up 0.7 percent-- reflecting a 2.0 percent increase in coffee prices. The indexes for cereal and bakery products and for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs each increased 0.3 percent in March, following a decline of the same magnitude in February. Within the latter group, prices for beef rose 0.5 percent; poultry, 0.4 percent; and pork, 0.2 percent. The indexes for dairy products and for other food at home each increased 0.1 percent. Within the latter group, a 2.6 percent increase in prices for candy and gum more than offset a 1.8 percent decrease in prices for butter and margarine. The other two components of the food and beverages index--food away from home and alcoholic beverages--increased 0.2 and 0.3 percent, respectively. The index for housing, which rose 0.1 percent in February, increased 0.2 percent in March. The index for shelter increased 0.4 percent in March, the same as in February. Within shelter, the indexes for rent and owners' equivalent rent each increased 0.4 percent and the index for lodging away from home rose 0.8 percent. (Prior to seasonal adjustment, the index for lodging away from home increased 5.2 percent.) The index for fuels and utilities declined 0.9 percent, following a 1.1 percent drop in February. Declines in the indexes for natural gas and for fuel oil more than offset a small increase in charges for electricity. The index for natural gas, which declined 4.5 percent in February, fell 4.3 percent in March. The index for fuel oil declined for the sixth consecutive month--down 0.3 percent in March. The index for electricity rose 0.5 percent. During the last 12 months, charges for natural gas and for electricity have increased 21.9 and 14.9 percent, respectively, and fuel oil prices have risen 18.5 percent. The index for household furnishings and operations, which was unchanged in February, increased 0.1 percent in March. The transportation index increased 0.9 percent in March after declining 0.2 percent in February, reflecting an upturn in gasoline prices. The index for gasoline, which declined 1.0 percent in February, advanced 3.6 percent in March and accounted for virtually all of the transportation increase in March. The index for new vehicles declined 0.1 percent in March and was 0.2 percent lower than in March. The index for used cars and trucks increased 0.4 percent in March. The index for public transportation declined 0.3 percent in March. (Prior to seasonal adjustment, the index for public transportation rose 0.6 percent as an increase in airline fares more than offset declines in the index for other intercity transportation.) Airline fares increased 1.1 percent in March, following increases of 1.2 percent in each of the first two months of the year. The index for apparel rose 1.0 percent in March, following a 1.0 percent decrease in February. (Prior to seasonal adjustment, apparel prices rose 4.6 percent, reflecting the continued introduction of spring-summer wear. Prices for women s apparel registered the largest advance--up 9.1 percent.) Medical care costs rose 0.4 percent in March and are 4.1 percent higher than a year ago. The index for medical care commodities--prescription drugs, nonprescription drugs, and medical supplies--increased 0.4 percent. The index for medical care services also rose 0.4 percent in March. The indexes for professional services and for hospital and related services increased 0.4 and 0.6 percent, respectively.. The index for recreation, which rose 0.1 percent in February, increased 0.4 percent in March. Twothirds of the March advance was accounted for by a 1.3 percent increase in charges for cable and satellite television and radio service. The index for newspapers and magazines rose 1.5 percent. The index for education and communication rose 0.2 percent in March. Educational costs increased 0.5 percent, reflecting in part an increase in educational books and supplies. Communication costs declined 0.1 percent, reflecting a decrease in telephone service charges. A 0.1 percent increase in local land-line telephone charges was more than offset by a 0.7 percent decrease in long distance land-line telephone charges. The index for information technology, hardware and services was unchanged as a 1.4 percent increase in the index for internet services and electronic information providers was offset by declines in the indexes for personal computers and peripheral equipment, for computer software and accessories, and for telephone hardware.

4 The index for other goods and services rose 0.2 percent in March; increases in the indexes for tobacco and smoking products and for financial services accounted for over 90 percent of the advance. Prices for tobacco and smoking products rose 0.6 percent. The index for financial services increased 1.6 percent, largely as a result of a 2.4 percent increase in charges for tax return preparation and other accounting fees. CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers rose 0.5 percent in March. Table B. Percent changes in CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) Seasonally adjusted Un- Expenditure Changes from preceding month Compound annual rate adjusted 12-mos. Category 3-mos. ended ended Sep. Oct. Nov 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 April are scheduled for release on Wednesday, May 17,, at 8:30 A.M. (EDT). CPI (Old Weights) For the first six months of, BLS also will calculate Old Weights CPI-U and Old Weights CPI-W based on the expenditure pattern used in the CPI from 2004 through. These Old Weight data are contained in tables 1(OW)-4(OW). From February to March, the Old Weight CPI-U rose 0.7 percent and the Old Weight CPI-W rose 0.6 percent. Note these series are not seasonally adjusted. Facilities for Sensory Impaired Information from this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: , Federal Relay Services: For a recorded message of Summary CPI data, call (202)

5 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)

6 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 4.5 Percent Change Index point difference 4.5 Divided by the previous index Equals Results multiplied by one hundred 0.040x100 Equals percent change 4.0 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.

7 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 unadjusted 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 2001 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 for the last 5 years, but the seasonally adjusted indexes will be used before that period. Note: 43 of the 73 components are seasonally adjusted for. 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 Fuel oil, Utility (piped) gas, Motor fuels, and Educational books and supplies indexes, this procedure was used to offset the effects that extreme price volatility would otherwise have had on the estimates of seasonally adjusted data for those series. For the Nonalcoholic beverages index, the procedure was used to offset the effects of sharp rises in the price of coffee futures. The procedure was used to account for unusual butter fat supply reductions, changes in milk supply, and large swings in soybean oil inventories affecting the Fats and oils series. For Dairy products, it mitigated the effects of significant changes in milk, butter and cheese production levels. For Fresh vegetable series, the method was used to account for the effects of hurricane-related disruptions. For Electricity, it was used to offset an increase in demand due to warmer than

8 expected weather, increased rates to conserve supplies, and declining natural gas inventories. For New vehicle series, the procedure was used to offset the effects of a model changeover combined with financing incentives. 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 Daniel Chow on (202) by at Chow.Daniel@bls.gov. If you have general questions about the CPI, please call our information staff at (202)

9 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 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 Fuels 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.

10 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 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)... - $.503 $ Purchasing power of the consumer dollar (1967=$1.00)... - $.168 $ 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. - Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

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 CPI-U Seasonally adjusted indexes Seasonally adjusted annual rate percent change for June 3 months ended 6 months ended Sep. Sep. 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 Fuels 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.

12 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 Seasonally adjusted annual rate percent change for June 3 months ended 6 months ended Sep. Sep. 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. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

13 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, July, 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 July 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.

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 CPI-W Relative importance, December indexes percent change to from Seasonally adjusted percent change from to to to 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 Fuels 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.

15 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 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)... - $.515 $ Purchasing power of the consumer dollar (1967=$1.00)... - $.173 $ 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. - Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

16 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 Seasonally adjusted annual rate percent change for June 3 months ended 6 months ended Sep. Sep. 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 Fuels 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.