Internet: www.bls.gov/ro5/	FOR RELEASE:
GENERAL INFORMATION: (312) 353-1880	8:30 A.M.  ET
MEDIA CONTACT: Paul LaPorte	Wednesday, March 18, 2009
(312) 353-1138

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CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR ENERGY AND FOOD CLEVELAND-AKRON, OH CMSA FEBRUARY 2009

 

Energy costs in the Cleveland-Akron area fell 1.5 percent in February, according to a report released today by the U. S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Over the past 12 months, energy costs were down 18.0 percent.  In the previous annual period, February 2007-2008, energy costs rose 19.3 percent.  The cost of grocery foods (food at home index) decreased 0.4 percent from January but was 8.5 percent higher than a year ago.  In the previous annual period, February 2007-2008, grocery food prices increased 3.3 percent.

The February decline in energy costs was attributed to a 1.8 percent drop in the gasoline index and a 4.1 percent decline in the utility (piped) gas service index, commented Regional Commissioner Jay A. Mousa.  A 2.4 percent increase in the electricity index only partially offset these declines. The 18.0 percent annual decline in energy costs was mostly attributed to a 38.0 percent over-the-year drop in prices at the gasoline pumps.  This most recent annual drop in the energy index was the largest February-February decline since the 22.5 percent decline recorded in the February 2001 to February 2002 period.

 

 

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Scheduled release date for the March 2009 CPI: Wednesday, April 15, 2009

CPI HOTLINE SERVICE PROVIDES LATEST INDEXES 24 HOURS A DAY

The all items CPI-U and CPI-W for the U.S. City Average, and the Cleveland area are available to the public 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through the Bureau's CPI Hotline service. This recorded message also provides percent changes from the prior period and from a year earlier, as well as the scheduled release date for the next CPI issuance. The Hotline number in Cleveland is (216) 522-3852.

BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE CPI

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 87 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 32 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. Prices are collected in 87 urban areas across the country from about 50,000 housing units and approximately 23,000 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. Prices of food, fuels, and a few other items are obtained every month in all 87 locations. Prices of most other commodities and services are collected every month in the three largest geographic areas and every other month in other areas. Prices of most goods and services are obtained by personal visits of the Bureau's trained representatives.

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. Separate indexes are also published by size of city, by region of the country, for cross-classifications of regions and population-size classes, and for 27 local areas. Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices among cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.

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/homch17_a.htm.

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Last Modified Date: March 18, 2009