The Cleveland-Akron, Ohio, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) decreased 0.2 percent from September to November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that food prices increased 0.8 percent and energy costs were up 1.6 percent over the bi-monthly period. The index for all items less food and energy declined 0.6 percent over the past two months. Within this last category, costs were lower for apparel, new and used motor vehicles, and shelter. (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 rose 1.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index advanced 15.3 percent over the year primarily due to increases in the gasoline and electricity indexes. The all items less food and energy index was 0.4 percent higher over the past 12 months. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.8 percent from September to November. Between the food index’s two components, prices for food at home (groceries) and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) rose 0.9 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively, over the past two months.

From November 2016 to November 2017 overall food prices rose 2.1 percent. The index for food at home was up 2.4 percent, whereas the food away from home index increased 1.7 percent compared to November a year ago.

Energy

The energy index increased 1.6 percent from September to November. A 4.3-percent increase in gasoline prices more than offset a 1.0-percent drop in the electricity index and 0.6- percent drop in the utility (piped) gas service index.

Over the year, the energy index increased 15.3 percent. Gasoline prices rose 22.7 percent and the electricity index rose 15.2 percent. In contrast, the utility (piped) gas service index declined 1.0 percent compared to the previous November.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy was down 0.6 percent from September to November. Among the index’s components, prices were lower for apparel (-11.1 percent), new and used motor vehicles, and shelter (-0.3 percent) over the two-month period.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy was up 0.4 percent. An annual increase in the shelter index (2.1 percent) was the major contributing factor over the past 12 months.

Table A. Cleveland CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2013		2014		2015		2016		2017
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
January	0.2	1.5	0.3	1.1	-0.7	0.5	-0.1	0.1	0.7	1.6
March	0.9	1.0	1.6	1.9	0.9	-0.2	0.5	-0.2	0.3	1.3
May	0.4	1.5	0.2	1.7	0.4	-0.1	0.9	0.3	0.1	0.5
July	0.7	2.2	0.5	1.4	0.9	0.4	0.0	-0.6	0.2	0.7
September	-0.4	0.7	-0.5	1.3	-1.4	-0.4	-0.5	0.3	0.6	1.8
November	-0.7	1.0	-0.6	1.5	-0.5	-0.4	-0.1	0.8	-0.2	1.6

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 89 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 28 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 6,000 housing units and approximately 24,000 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/pdf/homch17.pdf.

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.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods
Cleveland-Akron, OH (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Sep. 2017	Oct. 2017	Nov. 2017	Nov. 2016	Sep. 2017	Oct. 2017
Expenditure category
All items	224.879	-	224.390	1.6	-0.2	-
All items (1967=100)	720.619	-	719.051	-	-	-
Food and beverages	250.121	-	252.024	2.2	0.8	-
Food	254.365	-	256.409	2.1	0.8	-
Food at home	240.299	242.788	242.572	2.4	0.9	-0.1
Food away from home	279.830	-	281.509	1.7	0.6	-
Alcoholic beverages	200.707	-	201.240	3.4	0.3	-
Housing	211.652	-	210.799	2.6	-0.4	-
Shelter	246.770	246.714	246.095	2.1	-0.3	-0.3
Rent of primary residence(1)	245.513	248.590	249.614	4.0	1.7	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)	241.101	243.134	243.637	3.0	1.1	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	241.101	243.134	243.637	3.0	1.1	0.2
Fuels and utilities	199.971	-	199.074	8.7	-0.4	-
Household energy	162.796	163.346	161.573	9.4	-0.8	-1.1
Energy services(1)	160.998	161.500	159.602	9.1	-0.9	-1.2
Electricity(1)	180.344	181.405	178.568	15.2	-1.0	-1.6
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	118.457	118.180	117.701	-1.0	-0.6	-0.4
Household furnishings and operations	116.516	-	115.048	-1.2	-1.3	-
Apparel	139.541	-	123.996	-5.8	-11.1	-
Transportation	194.106	-	195.262	3.2	0.6	-
Private transportation	194.703	-	195.045	3.0	0.2	-
Motor fuel	254.295	238.888	265.185	22.7	4.3	11.0
Gasoline (all types)	251.603	236.303	262.391	22.7	4.3	11.0
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)	236.996	222.630	247.713	23.1	4.5	11.3
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)	269.702	251.833	277.485	21.0	2.9	10.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)	274.197	258.014	280.703	18.9	2.4	8.8
Medical care	441.056	-	441.481	-0.2	0.1	-
Recreation(5)	120.431	-	120.785	0.7	0.3	-
Education and communication(5)	123.893	-	125.073	-1.2	1.0	-
Other goods and services	414.182	-	414.581	0.7	0.1	-
Commodity and service group
All items	224.879	-	224.390	1.6	-0.2	-
Commodities	188.761	-	187.503	0.7	-0.7	-
Commodities less food & beverages	157.917	-	155.124	-0.5	-1.8	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	210.355	-	206.518	2.6	-1.8	-
Durables	103.913	-	102.161	-4.7	-1.7	-
Services	261.346	-	261.572	2.3	0.1	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	214.957	-	214.425	1.8	-0.2	-
All items less shelter	218.364	-	217.938	1.5	-0.2	-
Commodities less food	159.621	-	156.986	-0.3	-1.7	-
Nondurables	230.093	-	229.258	2.4	-0.4	-
Nondurables less food	209.125	-	205.721	2.7	-1.6	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	282.513	-	283.710	2.5	0.4	-
Services less medical care services	248.515	-	248.773	2.6	0.1	-
Energy	197.881	192.712	200.986	15.3	1.6	4.3
All items less energy	229.678	-	228.851	0.7	-0.4	-
All items less food and energy	225.589	-	224.221	0.4	-0.6	-
Footnotes (1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (2) Index is on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
- Data not available. Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.