The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell area increased by 0.1 percent from June to August, according to a report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee stated that the food index advanced 1.2 percent during this period, while the energy index rose 0.4 percent. The index for all items excluding food and energy fell by 0.1 percent.
Over the past year, the overall CPI-U in Atlanta climbed 1.7 percent through August. The index for all items less food and energy was up 1.9 percent over the same period, while the food index grew by 3.5 percent and the energy index declined by 2.3 percent.
Within the food category, prices for food away from home increased by 1.9 percent from June to August, and prices for food at home went up by 0.8 percent during that time frame. Four out of six major grocery store food groups saw price increases, including meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (up 2.3 percent), as well as nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (up 3.3 percent).
Looking at annual changes, the food away from home index rose by 6.9 percent over the last year, while food at home increased by 1.2 percent during that span. Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs were among three grocery categories with notable annual increases (up 7.3 percent).
Energy prices saw a slight rise of 0.4 percent from June to August; however, gasoline prices edged up only 0.2 percent over those two months but dropped sharply—by 9.5 percent—over the last year.
The index for all items less food and energy declined slightly over two months due in part to decreases in apparel (-4.6 percent), medical care (-1.1 percent), and recreation (-1.3 percent). In contrast, owners’ equivalent rent increased by 0.5 percent and education and communication costs rose by 1.6 percent.
For the twelve-month period ending in August, shelter costs went up by 2.3 percent while owners’ equivalent rent was higher by 3%. Household furnishings and operations also showed an increase of eight percent over this timeframe; apparel dropped seven-and-a-half-percent compared to last year.
The Consumer Price Index is released bi-monthly for Atlanta as part of a national program measuring average price changes over time in a fixed basket of goods and services (https://www.bls.gov/cpi/). Local indexes such as Atlanta’s are subject to more sampling error than national or regional indexes due to smaller sample sizes; they are also not seasonally adjusted so may be more volatile than broader measures.
Percent change data previously found in Table A can now be accessed via Chart 1 or BLS data query tools linked within Table 1 under historical data (https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost?cu).
The next release of CPI data for September is scheduled for October 15 at 8:30 a.m., with October figures set for November 13 at 8:30 a.m.
