The Cleveland-Akron, Ohio, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.9 percent from January to March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that food prices fell 1.0 percent, and the index for energy rose 7.0 percent over the bi-monthly period. The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.4 percent. Within this last group, prices were higher for apparel, shelter, and new and used motor vehicles. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the past 12 months the Cleveland area all items CPI-U advanced 1.0 percent. The energy index declined 0.8 percent, largely the result of a decrease in prices for gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.2 percent over the year.

Food

Food prices fell 1.0 percent from January to March, following an increase of 2.3 percent over the previous bi-monthly period. Of the food index’s two components, food at home fell 1.0 percent and food away from home fell 0.9 percent. From March 2012 to March 2013, the index for food advanced 1.7 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 7.0 percent from January to March after falling 0.6 percent from November to January. Gasoline prices rose 14.2 percent and electricity prices rose 0.6 percent over the most recent bi-monthly period. In contrast, prices for utility (piped) gas service fell 3.3 percent from January to March.

Over the year, the energy index fell 0.8 percent. Prices for gasoline declined 1.9 percent and electricity prices declined 2.0 percent from March 2012 to March 2013. In contrast, prices for utility (piped) gas service increased 5.0 percent over this same period.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.4 percent from January to March. Increases in prices for apparel (5.6 percent), shelter (0.5 percent), and new and used motor vehicles contributed to the index’s rise over the bi-monthly period.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.2 percent. The increase was largely attributed to higher prices for shelter (2.1 percent) and education and communication (1.7 percent).

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The May 2013 Consumer Price Index for Cleveland is scheduled to be released on June 18, 2013, 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 88 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 87 urban areas across the country from about 4,000 housing units and approximately 26,000 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 (1982-84) that equals 100.0. An increase of 16.5 percent, for example, is shown as 116.5. 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 1982-84 to $11.65. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/homch17_a.htm.

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 Cleveland-Akron, Ohio consolidated area covered in this release is comprised of Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, and Summit Counties in Ohio.

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.