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News Release Information

22-54-SAN
Wednesday, January 12, 2022

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

Consumer Price Index, Anchorage area — December 2021

Area prices were up 0.4 percent over the past two months, up 7.2 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Anchorage area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.4 percent for the two months ending in December 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the December increase was influenced by higher prices for used cars and trucks and shelter. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 7.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices increased 9.3 percent. Energy prices jumped 19.7 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 5.7 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Urban Alaska, December 2018-December 2021
Food

Food prices rose 0.5 percent for the two months ending in December. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home inched down 0.1 percent. Prices decreased across most food sub-categories last month. Prices for food away from home advanced 1.4 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 9.3 percent. Prices for food at home rose 10.6 percent since a year ago. Food sub-category prices increased from a low of 2.9 percent for dairy and related products to a high of 14.1 percent for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs. Prices for food away from home increased 7.3 percent for the two-month period.

Energy

The energy index inched up 0.2 percent for the two months ending in December. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (0.2 percent). Prices for electricity and natural gas service did not change from October to December.

Energy prices jumped 19.7 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (53.3 percent). Prices paid for electricity declined 9.6 percent, and prices for natural gas service declined 1.7 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 used cars and trucks (6.3 percent), recreation (1.8 percent), and shelter (0.5 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-3.3 percent) and alcoholic beverages (-0.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 5.7 percent. Components contributing to the increase included new and used motor vehicles (18.1 percent) and shelter (4.3 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in motor vehicle insurance (-7.8 percent).

Table A. Urban Alaska CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month201920202021
2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month

February

0.32.50.0-0.31.01.3

April

0.62.7-1.6-2.51.84.8

June

2.52.51.0-3.82.56.2

August

-1.60.70.8-1.50.35.7

October

-1.2-0.30.60.31.26.3

December

-0.50.0-0.50.30.47.2

The February 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Anchorage area is scheduled to be released on March 10, 2022.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on December 2021 Consumer Price Index Data

Data collection by personal visit for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) program has been suspended almost entirely since March 16, 2020. When possible, data normally collected by personal visit were collected either online or by phone. Additionally, data collection in December was affected by the temporary closing or limited operations of certain types of establishments. These factors resulted in an increase in the number of prices considered temporarily unavailable and imputed.

While the CPI program attempted to collect as much data as possible, many indexes are based on smaller amounts of collected prices than usual, and a small number of indexes that are normally published were not published this month.

For each month from March 2020 to December 2021, BLS has published a summary of the impact of the pandemic on the Consumer Price Index news release and data. The impact summary for December is available at www.bls.gov/covid19/consumer-price-index-covid19-impacts-december-2021.htm. Beginning with publication of January 2022 data in February 2022, this month-specific impact summary will be discontinued. However, information related to the impact of the pandemic will continue to be available at www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-consumer-price-index.htm.

 


Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measures 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 U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. 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 6,000 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; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000.  Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods 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 Urban Alaska area covered in this release consists of Anchorage and Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the State of Alaska.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments 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

Urban Alaska (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

IndexesPercent change from-
Historical
data
Oct.
2021
Nov.
2021
Dec.
2021
Dec.
2020
Oct.
2021
Nov.
2021

Expenditure category

All items

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSA0
242.708-243.5687.20.4-

All items (1967=100)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GAA0
647.822-650.118---

Food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSAF
243.523-244.5758.80.4-

Food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSAF1
252.664-253.8839.30.5-

Food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSAF11
251.671251.890251.53810.6-0.1-0.1

Cereals and bakery products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSAF111
262.046-258.9169.9-1.2-

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSAF112
267.774-260.44214.1-2.7-

Dairy and related products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSEFJ
236.049-225.0062.9-4.7-

Fruits and vegetables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSAF113
375.387-372.0616.4-0.9-

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSAF114
161.686-162.60210.00.6-

Other food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSAF115
199.766-209.67213.65.0-

Food away from home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSEFV
251.008-254.4467.31.4-

Alcoholic beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSAF116
157.906-157.6103.2-0.2-

Housing

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSAH
212.321-213.5273.60.6-

Shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSAH1
211.174211.476212.3284.30.50.4

Rent of primary residence(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSEHA
205.303206.102207.0733.40.90.5

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSEHC
212.363212.706213.5134.10.50.4

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSEHC01
212.363212.706213.5134.10.50.4

Fuels and utilities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSAH2
347.442-347.493-3.40.0-

Household energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSAH21
354.620354.766354.688-5.70.00.0

Energy services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSEHF
393.217393.217393.217-6.20.00.0

Electricity

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSEHF01
337.170337.170337.170-9.60.00.0

Utility (piped) gas service

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSEHF02
466.730466.730466.730-1.70.00.0

Household furnishings and operations

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSAH3
142.469-144.4217.01.4-

Apparel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSAA
154.407-149.24310.0-3.3-

Transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSAT
263.933-264.54223.50.2-

Private transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSAT1
271.533-274.91822.91.2-

New and used motor vehicles(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSETA
129.306-131.84118.12.0-

New vehicles(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSETA01
264.254-264.2545.50.0-

Used cars and trucks(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSETA02
368.785-392.08638.16.3-

Motor fuel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSETB
305.128306.350306.12453.30.3-0.1

Gasoline (all types)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSETB01
307.215308.121307.90953.30.2-0.1

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSS47014
296.118296.943296.54254.10.1-0.1

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSS47015
294.181295.386295.13451.60.3-0.1

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSS47016
313.125314.209314.81549.50.50.2

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSETE
805.771-805.771-7.80.0-

Medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSAM
670.439-----

Recreation(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSAR
130.806-133.1663.81.8-

Education and communication(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSAE
115.240-116.0630.80.7-

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

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSEEB
764.593-764.5930.40.0-

Other goods and services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSAG
389.457-390.2834.10.2-

Commodity and service group

All items

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSA0
242.708-243.5687.20.4-

Commodities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSAC
205.209-207.20612.61.0-

Commodities less food & beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSACL11
185.434-187.88215.11.3-

Nondurables less food & beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSANL11
230.741-231.73017.00.4-

Durables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSAD
145.644-148.91213.12.2-

Services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSAS
274.274-274.0533.7-0.1-

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSA0L5
227.901-228.9257.80.4-

All items less shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSA0L2
256.750-257.4408.50.3-

Commodities less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSACL1
184.468-186.77614.51.3-

Nondurables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSAN
238.110-239.13512.30.4-

Nondurables less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSANL1
224.961-225.80515.70.4-

Services less rent of shelter(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSASL2RS
378.532-375.6683.0-0.8-

Services less medical care services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSASL5
250.738-250.7294.00.0-

Energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSA0E
326.952327.733327.56719.70.2-0.1

All items less energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSA0LE
238.129-239.0056.30.4-

All items less food and energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49GSA0L1E
235.939-236.7555.70.3-

Footnotes
(1) Indexes on a December 1978=100 base.
(2) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base.
(3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
(4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.

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

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, January 12, 2022