Pittsburgh AREA Consumer Price Index: FIRST HALF 2009 (PDF)

Retail prices in the Pittsburgh area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), rose 0.5 percent from the first half of 2008 to the first half of 2009, 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 food and beverages 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 2009.  Only the transportation index recorded a decline from the first half of 2008 to the first half of 2009.  (See chart A and table 1.)

Chart A.  Over-the-year percent changes ended in the first half of 2009 for the major categories of the CPI-U for the Pittsburgh area, not seasonally adjusted

Chart Data

The food and beverages index rose 5.3 percent since the first half of 2008 due primarily to a 6.9-percent advance in food away from home prices.  Both of these indexes have experienced uninterrupted 12-month increases since semiannual publication began in the first half of 1984.  Higher prices for food at home and alcoholic beverages, up 4.7 and 2.5 percent, respectively, also contributed to the overall increase in the food and beverages index.

The housing index rose 0.9 percent from its year-ago level, due mainly to a 1.1-percent increase in prices for shelter, in particular, those for owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence, which advanced 1.6 percent.  The other published component of the shelter index, rent of primary residence, rose 0.4 percent since the first half of 2008.  Household furnishings and operations prices also contributed to the recent advance in the housing index, up 5.2 percent over the year—the largest 12-month increase since the second half of 1995.  The fuels and utilities index decreased 3.0 percent over the last 12 months as utility (piped) gas service prices fell 3.9 percent.  Moderating the decline in fuels and utilities index were higher prices for electricity, which rose 3.9 percent over the year.

Education and communication prices increased 4.7 percent from their year-ago levels.  The recreation index rose 4.8 percent since the first half of 2008.

The apparel index rose 6.1 percent over the year, about the same as it did the previous year.

Medical care prices advanced 2.9 percent over the last 12 months—the smallest 12-month increase since the first half of 2001.  This index has experienced continuous one-year increases since semiannual publication began in the first half of 1984.

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 5.7 percent higher than a year ago—the largest over-the-year advance since the second half of 2004.

The transportation index dropped 11.5 percent from the first half of 2008 to the first half of 2009.  Lower gasoline prices, down 35.8 percent over the year, were almost entirely responsible for the overall decline.  This was the largest drop in gasoline prices since the inception of semiannual publication in the first half of 1984. 

The energy index, which reflects pricing for gasoline and household fuels, dropped 20.6 percent over the year.  Lower prices for gasoline dominated the over-the-year decline in energy prices.  Lower prices for utility (piped) gas service also contributed to the recent 12-month drop in the energy index, while higher prices for electricity helped moderate the overall decrease.

The CPI-U for the Pittsburgh area stood at 210.468 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 $210.47 in the first half of 2009.

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