Consumer Price Index Summary
Technical Note Brief Explanation of the CPI The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the change in prices paid by consumers for goods and services. The CPI reflects spending patterns for each of two population groups: all urban consumers and urban wage earners and clerical workers.
- The all urban consumer group represents about 93 percent of the total U.S. population. It is based on the expenditures of almost all residents of urban or metropolitan areas, including professionals, the self -employed, the poor, the unemployed, and retired people, as well as urban wage earners and clerical workers.
- Not included in the CPI are the spending patterns of people living in rural nonmetropolitan areas, farming families, people in the Armed Forces, and those in institutions, such as prisons and mental hospitals.
- Consumer inflation for all urban consumers is measured by two indexes, namely, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban
Consumers (CPI-U) and the Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U).
- The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) is based on the expenditures of households included in the CPI-U definition that meet two requirements: more than one-half of the household's income must come from clerical or wage occupations, and at least one of the household's earners must have been employed for at least 37 weeks during the previous 12 months. The CPI-W population represents about 29 percent of the total U.S. population and is a subset of the CPI-U population. The CPIs are based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, fuels, transportation, doctors' and dentists' services, drugs, and other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. Prices are collected each month 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. Prices of fuels and a few other items are obtained every month in all 75 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 visit, telephone call, or web collection by the Bureau's trained representatives. In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each location are aggregated using weights, which represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Local data are then combined to obtain a U.S. city average. For the CPI-U and CPI-W, 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 23 selected 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. For the C-CPI-U, data are issued only at the national level. The CPI-U and CPI-W are considered final when released, but the C-CPI-U is issued in preliminary form and subject to three subsequent quarterly revisions. The index measures price change from a designed reference date. For most of the CPI-U and the CPI-W, the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. The reference base for the C-CPI-U is December 1999 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. Sampling Error in the CPI The CPI is a statistical estimate that is subject to sampling error because it is based upon a sample of retail prices and not the complete universe of all prices. BLS calculates and publishes estimates of the 1-month, 2-month, 6-month, and 12-month percent change standard errors annually for the CPI-U. These standard error estimates can be used to construct confidence intervals for hypothesis testing. For example, the estimated standard error of the 1-month percent change is 0.03 percent for the U.S. all items CPI. This means that if we repeatedly sample from the universe of all retail prices using the same methodology, and estimate a percentage change for each sample, then 95 percent of these estimates will be within 0.06 percent of the 1-month percentage change based on all retail prices. For example, for a 1-month change of 0.2 percent in the all items CPI-U, we are 95 percent confident that the actual percent change based on all retail prices would fall between 0.14 and 0.26 percent. For the latest data, including information on how to use the estimates of standard error, see www.bls.gov/cpi/tables/variance-estimates/home.htm.
Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until 8:30 a.m. (ET) Tuesday, June 13, 2023 USDL-23-1301 Technical information: (202) 691-7000 * cpi_info@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/cpi Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov CONSUMER PRICE INDEX - MAY 2023 The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.1 percent in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, after increasing 0.4 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 4.0 percent before seasonal adjustment. The index for shelter was the largest contributor to the monthly all items increase, followed by an increase in the index for used cars and trucks. The food index increased 0.2 percent in May after being unchanged in the previous 2 months. The index for food at home rose 0.1 percent over the month while the index for food away from home rose 0.5 percent. The energy index, in contrast, declined 3.6 percent in May as the major energy component indexes fell. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.4 percent in May, as it did in April and March. Indexes which increased in May include shelter, used cars and trucks, motor vehicle insurance, apparel, and personal care. The index for household furnishings and operations and the index for airline fares were among those that decreased over the month. The all items index increased 4.0 percent for the 12 months ending May; this was the smallest 12-month increase since the period ending March 2021. The all items less food and energy index rose 5.3 percent over the last 12 months. The energy index decreased 11.7 percent for the 12 months ending May, and the food index increased 6.7 percent over the last year.
| Seasonally adjusted changes from preceding month | Un- adjusted 12-mos. ended May 2023 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 2022 | Dec. 2022 | Jan. 2023 | Feb. 2023 | Mar. 2023 | Apr. 2023 | May 2023 | ||
All items | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 4.0 |
Food | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 6.7 |
Food at home | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 | -0.3 | -0.2 | 0.1 | 5.8 |
Food away from home(1) | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 8.3 |
Energy | -1.4 | -3.1 | 2.0 | -0.6 | -3.5 | 0.6 | -3.6 | -11.7 |
Energy commodities | -2.1 | -7.2 | 1.9 | 0.5 | -4.6 | 2.7 | -5.6 | -20.4 |
Gasoline (all types) | -2.3 | -7.0 | 2.4 | 1.0 | -4.6 | 3.0 | -5.6 | -19.7 |
Fuel oil(1) | 1.7 | -16.6 | -1.2 | -7.9 | -4.0 | -4.5 | -7.7 | -37.0 |
Energy services | -0.6 | 1.9 | 2.1 | -1.7 | -2.3 | -1.7 | -1.4 | 1.6 |
Electricity | 0.5 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | -0.7 | -0.7 | -1.0 | 5.9 |
Utility (piped) gas service | -3.4 | 3.5 | 6.7 | -8.0 | -7.1 | -4.9 | -2.6 | -11.0 |
All items less food and energy | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 5.3 |
Commodities less food and energy commodities | -0.2 | -0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 2.0 |
New vehicles | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | -0.2 | -0.1 | 4.7 |
Used cars and trucks | -2.0 | -2.0 | -1.9 | -2.8 | -0.9 | 4.4 | 4.4 | -4.2 |
Apparel | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 3.5 |
Medical care commodities(1) | 0.2 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 4.4 |
Services less energy services | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 6.6 |
Shelter | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 8.0 |
Transportation services | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.4 | -0.2 | 0.8 | 10.2 |
Medical care services | -0.5 | 0.3 | -0.7 | -0.7 | -0.5 | -0.1 | -0.1 | -0.1 |
Footnotes | ||||||||
Food The food index rose 0.2 percent in May. The food at home index increased 0.1 percent over the month, following a 0.2-percent decrease in April. Three of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased over the month. The index for fruits and vegetables increased 1.3 percent in May, following a 0.5-percent decrease in April. The other food at home index rose 0.4 percent over the month, and the nonalcoholic beverages index increased 0.7 percent. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs decreased 1.2 percent in May, as the index for eggs fell 13.8 percent, the largest decrease in that index since January 1951. The dairy and related products index declined 1.1 percent over the month, and the cereals and bakery products index was unchanged in May. The food away from home index rose 0.5 percent in May. The index for full service meals increased 0.4 percent over the month and the index for limited service meals increased 0.5 percent. The food at home index rose 5.8 percent over the last 12 months. The index for cereals and bakery products rose 10.7 percent over the 12 months ending in May. The remaining major grocery store food groups posted increases ranging from 0.3 percent (meats, poultry, fish, and eggs) to 9.2 percent (other food at home). The index for food away from home rose 8.3 percent over the last year. The index for full service meals rose 6.8 percent over the last 12 months, and the index for limited service meals rose 8.0 percent over the same period. Energy The energy index fell 3.6 percent in May after rising 0.6 percent in April. The gasoline index decreased 5.6 percent in May, following a 3.0-percent increase in the previous month. (Before seasonal adjustment, gasoline prices fell 1.4 percent in May.) Other energy components also declined. The natural gas index decreased 2.6 percent over the month , the fourth consecutive decrease in that index. The index for electricity decreased 1.0 percent in May, after falling 0.7 percent in both April and March. The fuel oil index also declined in May, down 7.7 percent. The energy index fell 11.7 percent over the past 12 months. The gasoline index decreased 19.7 percent over the last 12 months, while the natural gas index fell 11.0 percent, and the fuel oil index fell 37.0 percent over the span. In contrast, the index for electricity rose 5.9 percent over the last year. All items less food and energy The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.4 percent in May, as it did in April and March. The shelter index increased 0.6 percent over the month after rising 0.4 percent in April. The index for rent rose 0.5 percent in May, as did the index for owners' equivalent rent. The index for lodging away from home increased 1.8 percent in May after decreasing 3.0 percent in April. The shelter index was the largest factor in the monthly increase in the index for all items less food and energy. Among the other indexes that rose in May was the index for used cars and trucks, which increased 4.4 percent, and the index for motor vehicle insurance which increased 2.0 percent. The indexes for apparel, personal care, and education also increased in May. Several indexes declined in May, led by the household furnishings and operations index which fell 0.6 percent over the month. This was the first decline in that index since June 2021 and also the largest 1-month decline since August 2009. The index for airline fares decreased 3.0 percent over the month, following a 2.6-percent decline in April. The index for communication fell 0.3 percent over the month. The index for new vehicles and the index for recreation each declined 0.1 percent in May. The medical care index increased 0.1 percent in May, after being unchanged the previous month. The index for hospital services rose 1.0 percent over the month, after a 0.5-percent increase in April. The prescription drugs index increased 0.1 percent in May, while the physicians' services index declined 0.5 percent. The index for all items less food and energy rose 5.3 percent over the past 12 months. The shelter index increased 8.0 percent over the last year, accounting for over 60 percent of the total increase in all items less food and energy. Other indexes with notable increases over the last year include motor vehicle insurance (+17.1 percent), recreation (+4.5 percent), household furnishings and operations (+4.2 percent), and new vehicles (+4.7 percent). Not seasonally adjusted CPI measures The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 4.0 percent over the last 12 months to an index level of 304.127 (1982-84=100). For the month, the index increased 0.3 percent prior to seasonal adjustment. The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) increased 3.6 percent over the last 12 months to an index level of 298.382 (1982-84=100). For the month, the index increased 0.2 percent prior to seasonal adjustment. The Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U) increased 4.3 percent over the last 12 months. For the month, the index increased 0.2 percent on a not seasonally adjusted basis. Please note that the indexes for the past 10 to 12 months are subject to revision. _______________ The Consumer Price Index for June 2023 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).
NOTICES
- Beginning with June 2023 data published in July 2023, the CPI program will begin publishing data for 6 grocery food group indexes for several additional metropolitan areas each month. Read More »
NEWS RELEASES
CPI for all items rises 0.1% in May; shelter and used cars and trucks up
06/13/2023
In May, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers increased 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 4.0 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.4 percent in May (SA); up 5.3 percent over the year (NSA).
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NEXT RELEASE
June 2023 CPI data are scheduled to be released on July 12, 2023, at 8:30 A.M. Eastern Time.
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