News Release Information

19-929-CHI
Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Local prices up 2.3 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington area rose 1.0 percent from March to May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that the food index rose 0.6 percent and the energy index increased 5.1 percent over the bi-monthly period. The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.7 percent from March to May. Among the indexes within the all items less food and energy category, prices were higher for shelter and medical care. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the past 12 months, the Minneapolis all items CPI-U increased 2.3 percent. (See table A.) The food index rose 1.5 percent while the energy index declined 1.4 percent from May 2018 to May 2019. The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.7 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.6 percent from March to May. Of the two components within the food index, prices for food at home (groceries) fell 0.2 percent and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 1.6 percent over the bi-monthly period.

Over the year, food prices in the Minneapolis area were up 1.5 percent. Prices for groceries increased 0.3 percent, while food away from home prices rose 2.9 percent from May 2018.

Energy

The energy index for Minneapolis was 5.1 percent higher from March to May. Gasoline prices increased 9.3 percent for the bi-monthly period. Electricity costs edged up 0.1 percent while utility (piped) gas service costs were down 0.4 percent during the same period.

From May 2018 to May 2019, overall energy prices declined 1.4 percent. Utility (piped) gas service costs decreased 6.3 percent and gasoline prices declined 0.2 percent over the year. Electricity costs fell 0.8 percent from May 2018.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.7 percent from March to May. Among the index's components, prices were higher for shelter (0.9 percent) and medical care (1.3 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 2.7 percent. Increases in the indexes for shelter (4.4 percent) and medical care (4.4 percent) were contributing factors.

Month 2018 2019
2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month

January

0.3 0.4 1.4

March

0.5 1.4 2.3

May

1.0 1.0 2.3

July

0.3

September

0.3

November

-1.2 1.3

The July 2019 Consumer Price Index for Minneapolis is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, August 13, 2019.


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 93 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 29 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/pdf/homch17.pdf.

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 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, Core Based Statistical Area covered in this release is comprised of Anoka, Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, Isanti, LeSueur, Mille Lacs, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne, Sibley, Washington, and Wright Counties and Pierce and St. Croix Counties in Wisconsin.

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.

Item and Group Indexes Percent change from-
Mar.
2019
Apr.
2019
May
2019
May
2018
Mar.
2019
Apr.
2019

Expenditure category

All items

248.706 - 251.171 2.3 1.0 -

All items (1967=100)

781.566 - 789.313 - - -

Food and beverages

282.890 - 284.495 1.5 0.6 -

Food

271.986 - 273.601 1.5 0.6 -

Food at home

248.732 245.550 248.120 0.3 -0.2 1.0

Cereals and bakery products

272.776 - 278.936 -1.0 2.3 -

Meats, poultry, fish and eggs

266.378 - 263.219 0.2 -1.2 -

Dairy and related products

271.639 - 270.894 1.2 -0.3 -

Fruits and vegetables

341.751 - 345.086 1.0 1.0 -

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials

158.614 - 159.576 5.4 0.6 -

Other food at home

197.957 - 194.228 -1.7 -1.9 -

Food away from home

305.142 - 310.005 2.9 1.6 -

Alcoholic beverages

377.210 - 378.216 1.5 0.3 -

Housing

234.189 - 236.215 3.8 0.9 -

Shelter

277.110 278.059 279.731 4.4 0.9 0.6

Rent of primary residence

282.177 282.734 283.835 4.2 0.6 0.4

Owners' equiv. rent of residences

289.701 290.662 292.055 4.1 0.8 0.5

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence

289.701 290.662 292.055 4.1 0.8 0.5

Fuels and utilities

211.836 - 211.074 -1.7 -0.4 -

Household energy

188.164 181.139 187.286 -3.1 -0.5 3.4

Energy services

191.134 183.866 190.977 -2.9 -0.1 3.9

Electricity

264.116 257.338 264.348 -0.8 0.1 2.7

Utility (piped) gas service

128.863 121.227 128.381 -6.3 -0.4 5.9

Household furnishings and operations

120.235 - 121.715 4.3 1.2 -

Apparel

137.334 - 141.678 4.3 3.2 -

Transportation

202.537 - 206.247 -0.5 1.8 -

Private transportation

188.052 - 190.931 0.4 1.5 -

New and used motor vehicles

92.889 - 90.877 -0.3 -2.2 -

New vehicles

159.304 - 155.406 -0.3 -2.4 -

Used cars and trucks

276.767 - 271.604 -0.5 -1.9 -

Motor fuel

208.698 226.933 228.023 -0.2 9.3 0.5

Gasoline (all types)

209.139 227.591 228.659 -0.2 9.3 0.5

Gasoline, unleaded regular

209.369 227.908 229.099 -0.4 9.4 0.5

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade

215.067 233.574 233.425 -0.3 8.5 -0.1

Gasoline, unleaded premium

259.679 281.955 282.522 1.7 8.8 0.2

Motor vehicle insurance

499.357 - 499.357 -0.1 0.0 -

Medical care

553.468 - 560.402 4.4 1.3 -

Recreation

130.518 - 130.425 -0.5 -0.1 -

Education and communication

138.644 - 139.258 0.6 0.4 -

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare

1,130.940 - 1,130.940 0.2 0.0 -

Other goods and services

370.995 - 374.613 1.0 1.0 -

Commodity and service group

All items

248.706 - 251.171 2.3 1.0 -

Commodities

187.600 - 190.243 1.1 1.4 -

Commodities less food and beverages

145.416 - 148.167 0.9 1.9 -

Nondurables less food and beverages

191.768 - 199.749 1.4 4.2 -

Durables

105.528 - 104.667 0.3 -0.8 -

Services

303.050 - 305.344 2.9 0.8 -

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

234.990 - 237.253 2.1 1.0 -

All items less shelter

237.613 - 240.023 1.2 1.0 -

Commodities less food

153.662 - 156.458 0.9 1.8 -

Nondurables

234.615 - 240.051 1.5 2.3 -

Nondurables less food

204.385 - 212.268 1.4 3.9 -

Services less rent of shelter

345.931 - 347.800 1.3 0.5 -

Services less medical care services

280.418 - 282.439 2.6 0.7 -

Energy

201.506 208.427 211.831 -1.4 5.1 1.6

All items less energy

257.366 - 259.181 2.5 0.7 -

All items less food and energy

255.296 - 257.138 2.7 0.7 -

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

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BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published this content on 12 June 2019 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 12 June 2019 15:23:03 UTC