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News Release Information

18-1838-SAN
Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Consumer Price Index, Seattle area — October 2018

Area prices were up 0.4 percent over the past two months, up 3.1 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Seattle Area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), rose 0.4 percent for the two months ending in October 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the October increase was influenced by higher prices for gasoline and household furnishings and operations. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 3.1 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices jumped 12.7 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.6 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.5 percent for the two months ending in October. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 0.7 percent, and prices for food away from home advanced 0.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 2.0 percent. Prices for food away from home advanced 3.1 percent since a year ago, and prices for food at home increased 1.2 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 2.9 percent for the two months ending in October. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (5.7 percent). Prices for electricity declined 2.7 percent and prices for natural gas service moved down 0.2 percent for the same period.

Energy prices jumped 12.7 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (21.3 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service decreased 6.0 percent and prices for electricity declined 0.9 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.3 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for household furnishings and operations (2.9 percent), new vehicles (2.5 percent), and apparel (1.9 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for education and communication (-0.9 percent) and recreation (-0.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.6 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (5.2 percent) and to a lesser extent medical care (1.2 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decline in apparel (-3.9 percent).

Table A. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue CPI-U bi-monthly and annual percent changes (not seasonally adjusted)
Month201320142015201620172018
Bi-monthlyAnnualBi-monthlyAnnualBi-monthlyAnnualBi-monthlyAnnualBi-monthlyAnnualBi-monthlyAnnual

February

0.81.80.71.20.21.10.22.21.03.4 0.83.3 

April

0.41.21.62.40.90.41.12.50.83.1 0.83.3

June

0.81.40.42.01.61.60.91.80.83.0 0.83.3

August

0.01.1-0.21.80.01.80.32.1-0.22.5 -0.3 3.1

October

0.00.60.32.1-0.31.20.02.40.53.0 0.4 3.1

December

-0.71.3-1.11.7-0.22.20.02.60.53.5  

The December 2018 Consumer Price Index for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area is scheduled to be released on January 11, 2019.

Consumer Price Index Geographic Revision for 2018

In January 2018, BLS introduced a new geographic area sample for the Consumer Price Index (CPI). As part of the new sample, the index for this area was renamed. Additional information on the geographic revision is available at: www.bls.gov/cpi/additional-resources/geographic-revision-2018.htm.


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 94 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 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/cpi/.

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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties in the State of Washington.

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

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

IndexesPercent change from-
Aug.
2018
Sep.
2018
Oct.
2018
Oct.
2017
Aug.
2018
Sep.
2018

Expenditure category

All items

271.625-272.8053.10.4-

All items (1967=100)

828.019-831.614---

Food and beverages

271.179-272.7442.10.6-

Food

273.967-275.2922.00.5-

Food at home

252.301256.872253.9421.20.7-1.1

Cereals and bakery products

285.177-273.938--3.9-

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

205.561-212.515-3.4-

Dairy and related products

219.235-220.196-0.4-

Fruits and vegetables

403.265-412.860-2.4-

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

300.384-315.834-5.1-

Other food at home

218.518-214.714--1.7-

Food away from home

307.213-308.0633.10.3-

Food away from home

307.213-308.0633.10.3-

Alcoholic beverages

237.515-241.9842.61.9-

Housing

319.092-319.6364.40.2-

Shelter

368.505369.590368.5695.20.0-0.3

Rent of primary residence(2)

377.446379.697380.2445.80.70.1

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)

385.998388.246389.3706.00.90.3

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)

385.998388.246389.3706.00.90.3

Fuels and utilities

270.757-267.1311.4-1.3-

Household energy

244.222244.222239.706-0.1-1.8-1.8

Energy services(2)

288.699288.699282.401-1.8-2.2-2.2

Electricity(2)

316.114316.114307.714-0.9-2.7-2.7

Utility (piped) gas service(2)

161.507161.507161.212-6.0-0.2-0.2

Household furnishings and operations

168.160-173.1140.12.9-

Apparel

124.745-127.139-3.91.9-

Transportation

225.960-229.7855.51.7-

Private transportation

236.957-240.9427.21.7-

New and used motor vehicles(4)

99.707-100.097-0.4-

New vehicles(1)

196.177-201.162-2.5-

Used cars and trucks(1)

322.436-313.465--2.8-

Motor fuel

364.630367.568385.11921.25.64.8

Gasoline (all types)

371.950375.003393.03721.35.74.8

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

403.570407.022427.15821.65.84.9

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

294.265297.072309.36720.35.14.1

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

342.219344.263358.55819.84.84.2

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

582.369-584.118-0.3-

Medical care

398.566-399.4901.20.2-

Recreation(6)

95.712-95.5570.2-0.2-

Education and communication(6)

136.319-135.0290.6-0.9-

Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)

1,506.152-1,558.301-3.5-

Other goods and services

408.843-411.3920.30.6-

Commodity and service group

All items

271.625-272.8053.10.4-

Commodities

192.528-194.3462.50.9-

Commodities less food & beverages

154.103-155.9502.71.2-

Nondurables less food & beverages

192.194-194.5074.41.2-

Durables

116.873-118.2650.51.2-

Services

345.424-345.9513.40.2-

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

265.937-267.1313.20.4-

All items less shelter

234.603-236.2281.80.7-

Commodities less food

157.588-159.5242.71.2-

Nondurables

230.154-232.1403.20.9-

Nondurables less food

196.173-198.6324.31.3-

Services less rent of shelter(3)

325.724-326.8531.00.3-

Services less medical care services

338.419-338.8803.60.1-

Energy

311.757313.339320.65812.72.92.3

All items less energy

272.349-273.1442.60.3-

All items less food and energy

272.330-273.0382.60.3-

Footnotes
(1) Indexes on a November 1977=100 base.
(2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator.
(3) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base.
(4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
(6) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.

- Data not available
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, November 14, 2018