The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater edged down 0.3 percent from March to May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the energy index fell 17.4 percent since March. The food index advanced 6.1 percent over the bi-monthly period, while the index for all items less food and energy inched up 0.1 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 rose 0.9 percent from May 2019 to May 2020. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.0 percent over the past 12 months, while the food index jumped 8.1 percent. The energy index fell 24.8 percent over the past year. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index advanced 6.1 percent from March to May, led by a 10.8-percent jump in the food at home index. The food away from home index also rose over the bi-monthly period, up 0.6 percent.

The food index jumped 8.1 percent for the 12 months ending in May, reflecting increases in the food at home (11.9 percent) and food away from home (3.6 percent) indexes.  

Energy

The energy index declined 17.4 percent from March to May, led by a 22.3-percent fall in the gasoline index and a 13.7 percent decline in the electricity index. The utility (piped) gas service index also declined over the bi-monthly period, down 3.7 percent.   

The energy index fell sharply for the 12 months ending in May, down 24.8 percent. The gasoline index fell 35.1 percent over the past year, while the electricity index declined 14.0 percent and the utility (piped) gas service index declined 0.8 percent. 

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.1 percent from March to May. Several indexes increased since March, most notably, shelter (0.9 percent). In contrast, motor vehicle insurance (-18.5 percent) and apparel (-7.8 percent) were among the indexes to decline over the bi-monthly period.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.0 percent over the past year, led by increases in the shelter (3.7 percent) and medical care (4.3 percent) indexes. Indexes that declined over the past 12 months include apparel (-15.9 percent) and motor vehicle insurance (-14.2 percent).

Table A. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2018		2019		2020
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
January	0.8		-1.1	0.4	0.7	3.8
March	0.6		1.9	1.7	0.2	2.1
May	0.4		0.9	2.2	-0.3	0.9
July	0.3		0.1	2.1
September	0.6		-0.1	1.5
November	-0.3	2.3	0.2	2.0

The Consumer Price Index for June 2020 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, July 14, 2020.

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 5,000 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 (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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Core Based Statistical Area includes Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas Counties.

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