Pittsburgh Consumer Price Index:  Local Prices up 4.9 Percent over the Year (PDF)

Retail prices in the Pittsburgh area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), rose 4.9 percent from the first half of 2007 to the first half of 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor reported today.  Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that while advances in the transportation and housing indexes led the way, seven of the eight major categories of the Pittsburgh CPI-U had over-the-year increases in the first half of 2008.  Only the apparel index recorded a decline from the first half of 2007 to the first half of 2008.  (See chart A and table 1.)

Chart A.  12-month percent changes ended in the first half of 2008 for the major categories of the CPI-U for the Pittsburgh area, not seasonally adjusted

chart data

The transportation index increased 11.4 percent from the first half of 2007 to the first half of 2008.  Higher gasoline prices were largely responsible for the recent advance, which was the largest increase in transportation prices since semiannual publication of the index began in the first half of 1984.  The gasoline index jumped 30.7 percent from its year-ago level—the largest 12-month increase in this index since the first half of 2000.  Over-the-year advances in gasoline prices have continued uninterrupted since the second half of 2002.

The housing index rose 3.0 percent from its year-ago level, primarily reflecting a 12.6-percent advance in fuels and utilities prices.  Prices for both utility (piped) gas service and electricity were higher since the first half of 2007, up 13.8 and 9.5 percent, respectively.  The shelter index increased 1.0 percent over the last 12 months due in large part to price advances in both published components, owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence (0.9 percent) and rent of primary residence (1.4 percent).  Prices for household furnishings and operations, the third component of the housing index, rose 1.9 percent over the year.

The food and beverages index rose 4.6 percent since the first half of 2007 due mainly to a 5.5-percent advance in food at home prices.  Higher prices for food away from home and alcoholic beverages, up 3.7 and 4.4 percent, respectively, also contributed to the overall increase in the food and beverages index.

Medical care prices advanced 7.0 percent from the first half of 2007 to the first half of 2008—the largest over-the-year increase in this index since the first half of 1992.

Education and communication prices increased 4.8 percent from their year-ago levels.  The recreation index rose 4.6 percent over the year—the largest advance since the inception of this index.

The other goods and services index, which includes tobacco and smoking products, personal care products and services, and personal services such as legal, funeral, and laundry and dry cleaning services, was 2.9 percent higher than a year ago.

The apparel index was the only major category of the CPI to register a price decline from the first half of 2007 to the first half of 2008, down 1.7 percent over the year.

The energy index, which reflects pricing for gasoline and household fuels, jumped 23.0 percent since the first half of 2007—the largest advance since semiannual publication of this index began in the first half of 1984.  Higher prices for gasoline led the over-the-year increase in energy prices.  Higher prices for utility (piped) gas service and electricity also contributed to the recent 12-month advance in the energy index.

The CPI-U for the Pittsburgh area stood at 209.486 on the 1982-84=100 reference base, which means that a market basket of goods and services which averaged $100.00 in the 1982-84 period would have cost $209.49 in the first half of 2008.

The Pittsburgh, Pa., Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties.

The relative importance of a component of the CPI is its expenditure or value weight expressed as a percentage of all items within an area.  Relative importance ratios show approximately how the index population distributes expenditures when the value weights are collected and represent an estimate of how consumers would distribute their expenditures as prices change over time.  Relative importance ratios cannot be used as estimates of current spending patterns or as indicators of changing consumer expenditures in the intervals between weight revisions because consumption patterns are influenced by factors—including income, variations in climate, family size, and availability of new and different kinds of goods and services—other than price change. (See table A.)

Last Modified Date: August 14, 2008