News United States

Department

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Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212

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CONSUMER PRICE INDEX: AUGUST 2002

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.3 percent in August, before seasonal

adjustment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The August level of 180.7

(1982-84=100) was 1.8 percent higher than its level in August 2001.

The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) also rose 0.3 percent in

August, prior to seasonal adjustment. The August level of 176.6 was 1.6 percent higher than the index in August 2001.

CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U)

 On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U rose 0.3 percent in August, following increases of 0.1 percent in each

of the preceding two months. Larger increases in the indexes for energy and all items less food and energy more than

offset a downturn in the food index. The index for food, which rose 0.2 percent in July, declined 0.1 percent in August.

The index for food at home declined 0.3 percent as five of the six grocery store food groups registered declines. Energy

costs advanced for the second consecutive month--up 0.6 percent in August. Within energy, the index for petroleumbased energy rose 0.8 percent and the index for energy services increased 0.4 percent. Excluding food and energy, the

CPI-U rose 0.3 percent after increasing 0.2 percent in July. A sharp turnaround in the index for apparel, an upturn in the

index for tobacco and smoking products, and a larger increase in shelter costs were responsible for the larger advance in

August.

Table A. Percent changes in CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U)

Seasonally adjusted UnCompound adjusted

Expenditure Changes from preceding month annual rate 12-mos.

Category 2002 3-mos. ended ended

Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Aug. ’02 Aug.’02

All Items .2 .3 .5 .0 .1 .1 .3 2.2 1.8

 Food and beverages .2 .2 .1 -.2 .1 .2 -.1 .7 1.3

 Housing .3 .1 .3 .3 .1 .1 .3 2.0 2.1

 Apparel .5 1.2 -.6 -.6 -.9 -1.0 1.1 -3.2 -1.7

 Transportation -.2 1.2 1.7 -.4 .1 .3 .4 3.2 .4

 Medical care .3 .4 .5 .5 .2 .7 .2 4.4 4.7

 Recreation .1 .2 .3 -.1 -.3 .1 .1 -.4 1.1

 Education and

 communication .2 -.5 -.2 .6 .3 .7 .7 7.3 2.9

 Other goods and

 services 1.0 -.6 1.5 -.5 1.0 .0 .5 6.2 4.4

 Special Indexes

 Energy -.8 3.8 4.5 -.7 .0 .4 .6 4.0 -2.8

 Food .2 .2 .1 -.2 .0 .2 -.1 .5 1.2

 All Items less

 food and energy .3 .1 .3 .2 .1 .2 .3 2.1 2.4

See pages 3-7 and Table 7 for the release of the Chained Consumer Price Index for All Consumers

(C-CPI-U), a new supplemental index of consumer price change.
During the first eight months of 2002, the CPI-U rose at a 2.7 percent seasonally adjusted annual rate

(SAAR). This compares with an increase of 1.6 percent for all of 2001. The index for energy, which declined 13.0

percent in 2001, increased at a 13.5 percent SAAR in the first eight months of 2002. Petroleum-based energy costs

increased at a 32.6 percent annual rate, while charges for energy services declined at a 0.9 percent annual rate. The

food index has increased at a 1.0 percent SAAR thus far this year, following a 2.8 percent rise for all of 2001.

Excluding food and energy, the CPI-U advanced at a 2.2 percent SAAR in the first eight months, following a 2.7

percent rise in all of 2001.

The food and beverages index declined 0.1 percent in August. The index for food at home declined 0.3

percent, following a 0.1 percent rise in July. Five of the six major grocery store food groups registered declines in

August; the index for fruits and vegetables rose 0.2 percent. Within the fruits and vegetables group, the indexes for

fresh fruits and for processed fruits and vegetables increased 0.2 and 0.3 percent, respectively, and the index for fresh

vegetables was virtually unchanged. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs declined 0.4 percent in August.

Declines in the indexes for poultry, for fish and seafood, and for eggs more than offset price increases for beef and for

pork. The index for dairy products declined for the third consecutive month, down 0.2 percent in August, largely as a

result of a 0.5 percent drop in milk prices. The index for cereal and bakery products registered its second successive

drop, declining 0.1 percent in August. The other two major grocery store food groups, nonalcoholic beverages and

other food at home declined 0.6 and 0.4 percent, respectively. The other two components of the food and beverages

index, food away from home and alcoholic beverages, increased 0.2 and 0.3 percent, respectively,

The index for housing rose 0.3 percent in August. Shelter costs, which increased 0.2 percent in July, rose 0.4

percent in August. Within shelter, the index for rent rose 0.2 percent; owners' equivalent rent increased 0.3 percent;

and lodging away from home advanced 1.8 percent. The index for fuels and utilities rose 0.3 percent in August. The

indexes for fuel oil and for electricity increased 2.1 and 0.6 percent, respectively, while the index for natural gas

declined 0.3 percent. (Prior to seasonal adjustment, fuel oil prices rose 0.7 percent, charges for electricity were

unchanged, and charges for natural gas fell 0.2 percent.) The index for household furnishings and operations declined

0.3 percent in August.

The transportation index rose 0.4 percent in August. The index for gasoline increased for the third consecutive

month--up 0.5 percent in August. The index for new vehicles declined 0.1 percent in August. New vehicle prices

have declined every month thus far in 2002 and are 1.6 percent lower than in August 2001. The index for used cars

and trucks rose 0.5 percent in August. During the last 12 months, the index for used cars and trucks has declined 2.9

percent. Airline fares were virtually unchanged in August and have decreased 3.8 percent in the last 12 months.

The index for apparel increased 1.1 percent in August, following a 1.0 percent decrease in July. (Prior to

seasonal adjustment, apparel prices rose 1.5 percent, as price increases associated with the introduction of fall-winter

wear more than offset seasonal price discounting on spring-summer apparel.)

The medical care index rose 0.2 percent in August to a level 4.7 percent above its level a year ago. The index

for medical care commodities--prescription drugs, nonprescription drugs, and medical supplies--increased 0.2

percent. The index for medical care services also rose 0.2 percent in August. Charges for professional services were

virtually unchanged, while those for hospital and related services increased 0.7 percent.

The index for recreation increased 0.1 percent in August, the same as in July. Increases in the indexes for

recreational services, for sporting goods, and for pets, pet products and services more than offset declines in the

indexes for video and audio products and services, for photography, and for toys. Within the recreational services

category, the indexes for admissions to movies, theaters, concerts and sporting events rose for the third consecutive

month--up 0.8 percent in August.

The index for education and communication increased 0.7 percent in August. The index for college tuition and

fees rose 1.3 percent. (Prior to seasonal adjustment, this index rose 2.8 percent.) The index for communication costs

rose 0.6 percent, as a 1.1 percent increase in the index for telephone services was partially offset by a decline in the

index for information and information processing other than telephone services. Within telephone services, local

charges rose 1.2 percent and long-distance charges increased 0.8 percent. Prices for personal computers and

peripheral equipment declined 1.3 percent.
The index for other goods and services, which was virtually unchanged in July, increased 0.5 percent in

August. Prices for cigarettes, which declined 0.1 percent in July, rose 2.5 percent in August, reflecting excise tax

increases in some areas and decreased discounting of some major brands.

CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W)

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers increased 0.3 percent

in August.

Table B. Percent changes in CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W)

Seasonally adjusted UnCompound adjusted

Expenditure Changes from preceding month annual rate 12-mos.

Category 2002 3-mos. ended ended

Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Aug. ’02 Aug. ’02

All Items .2 .3 .6 -.1 .1 .2 .3 2.3 1.6

 Food and beverages .2 .2 .0 -.2 .1 .1 -.1 .5 1.2

 Housing .2 .2 .2 .3 .1 .2 .2 1.8 2.0

 Apparel .5 1.3 -.2 -.8 -.9 -1.0 1.1 -3.2 -1.6

 Transportation -.3 1.4 1.9 -.6 .2 .4 .5 4.3 .3

 Medical care .2 .4 .4 .5 .1 .8 .2 4.5 4.7

 Recreation .1 .2 .3 -.2 -.3 .1 .0 -.8 .8

 Education and

 communication .1 -.5 -.4 .7 .3 .7 .7 6.9 2.6

 Other goods and

 services 1.5 -1.0 2.2 -.9 1.5 .0 .8 9.6 5.5

 Special Indexes

 Energy -.8 4.1 5.0 -1.3 .2 .4 .7 5.4 -2.8

 Food .2 .2 -.1 -.2 .1 .2 -.1 .5 1.1

 All Items less

 food and energy .2 .1 .3 .1 .1 .2 .3 2.4 2.3

Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U)

The C-CPI-U rose 0.3 percent in August on a not seasonally adjusted basis. The August level of 105.8

(December 1999=100) was 1.3 percent higher than the index in August 2001. Table 7 contains the most recent

indexes for all items and the component series that are published. Data will be published monthly in the CPI Detailed

Report and are available on the CPI home page: http://www.bls.gov/cpi/. For an overview of the behavior of the CCPI-U from December 1999 through June 2002, see the note that follows on page 4. Please note that the indexes for

the post 2000 period are subject to revision.

Consumer Price Index data for September are scheduled for release on Friday, October 18, 2002, at 8:30

A.M. (EDT).
DISCUSSION OF THE BEHAVIOR OF THE

CHAINED CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR ALL URBAN CONSUMERS (C-CPI-U)

The differences between the C-CPI-U and CPI-U measures of inflation for 2000 and 2001 are notably larger

than had been expected based on prior analysis. (A table comparing these published series is available on the BLS web

site at http://stats.bls.gov/cpi/superchart1.htm.) In particular, data for the C-CPI-U for the year 2000, which are no

longer subject to revision, show that it increased 0.8 percentage point less than the CPI-U. In its announcement of

February 2002, the BLS estimated that the C-CPI-U would likely increase at an average annual rate of 0.1 to 0.2

percentage point less than the CPI-U.

There are several factors that may help to explain the large divergence in 2000. First, the simulations used by

BLS to anticipate the extent of the difference between the two measures reflected economic conditions in the early

1990s and those conditions may have changed since then. Second, there may be special circumstances for the year

2000.

Changes since 1990. Since the February announcement of the C-CPI-U, the BLS has extended the

simulations it presented for 1990-95, in the process correcting minor errors and including the years 1996 through 1999.

These updated simulations (available on the BLS web site at http://stats.bls.gov/cpi/superchart2.htm) illustrate two

important points. First, the average difference between the simulated CPI-U and C-CPI-U in the 1990-95 period--i.e.,

more than 0.2 percentage point--was somewhat larger than it had been as earlier estimated. Second, the differences

between the two simulated indexes expanded consistently during the 1996-99 period, reaching 0.5 percentage point in

1999.

In 2000, the CPI-U’s underlying expenditure weights were about six years old. Under current practice, the

BLS will update CPI-U expenditure weights every two years, and with such biennial updating the weights will be, on

average, only three years old. To examine the importance of expenditure weight age in 2000, a CPI-U using 1997-98

weights was simulated. That index increased by 3.3 percent during 2000, 0.1 less than the official CPI-U. This

suggests that, even if the CPI-U had employed biennial updating in 2000, the difference between it and the C-CPI-U

would have been 0.7 percentage point, still well above earlier expectations.

Relative price changes in 2000. Another more likely contributor to the growing gap is increased dispersion in

relative component index changes during 2000. In general, the CPI-U and the superlative C-CPI-U will diverge to the

extent that (a) component indexes have rates of inflation that differ from each other and (b) expenditure shares reflect a

shift in consumer purchases toward those item categories that have fallen in relative price. Therefore, when there is

more variation in price movements across component indexes, there is more room for the Laspeyres and superlative

indexes to diverge.

Inflation in CPI component indexes varied more widely during 2000 than during the preceding several years.

The variability of December-to-December component index changes was computed for each year in the historical

simulation data base, weighted by component expenditure shares in that year. Calculated in this way, the variability rose

in each year from 1998 through 2000, and was higher in each of those years than in any year from 1992-1997.

Two examples of indexes with unusual index movements in 2000 were computers and natural gas. The indexes

in the expenditure class consisting of personal computers and other information-processing goods and services fell

sharply in 2000. The series for personal computers and peripheral equipment dropped by 22.7 percent, and for the
expenditure class as a whole the December-to-December decline was 15.6 percent. By contrast, the CPI-U index for

utility natural gas rose 36.7 percent in 2000.

The significance of the component series can be seen by excluding them from the CPI-U and C-CPI-U

calculations. When we do this, the divergence between the two aggregate indexes drops to 0.4 percentage point, a gap

more nearly consistent with the historical range. In the C-CPI-U, the upward price movement for natural gas and the

downward movement for the information processing category effectively cancel each other out, and with these

components deleted the overall index change for 2000 remains at 2.6 percent. By contrast, the estimate for 2000 in a

1997-98 weighted CPI-U is lowered from 3.3 to 3.0 percent.

Comparison with other series. The 2000 results for the C-CPI-U, and the gap between that index and the

CPI-U, can also be compared to the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price indexes published by the Bureau

of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the Department of Commerce. Between December 1999 and December 2000, the

published PCE index, which uses a chain superlative formula, rose 2.5 percent, only 0.1 percentage point less than the

C-CPI-U increase. The BEA also produces a quarterly PCE series using fixed 1996 weights for comparison purposes.

As is the case with the CPI data series, the difference between the fixed weight and superlative PCE measures widened

consistently in the 1996-2000 period. Between the fourth quarters of 1999 and 2000, the chain PCE index rose by 2.5

percent and the fixed-weight index by 3.0 percent.

More recent data. The gap between the superlative and fixed-weight PCE measures narrowed after 2000,

and the same is true in CPI data. For the 12-month period ending December 2001, the gap between the C-CPI-U

increase and the CPI-U increase previously reported is smaller than for the corresponding period in 2000 (0.6

percentage point compared to 0.8 percentage point). For the 12 months ending July 2002, the C-CPI-U increased by

1.1 percent, compared to the CPI-U increase of 1.5 percent. It must be emphasized, however, that the 2001 and 2002

C-CPI-U data are subject to revision, and the revised data could lead to either higher or lower inflation estimates for

those years.
NOTE ON A NEW, SUPPLEMENTAL INDEX

 OF CONSUMER PRICE CHANGE

 The Bureau of Labor Statistics began publishing a consumer price index (CPI) called the Chained Consumer

Price Index for All Urban Consumers, effective with release of July data on August 16, 2002. Designated the C-CPIU, the index supplements the existing indexes already produced by the BLS: the CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U)

and the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).

The C-CPI-U employs a Tornqvist formula and utilizes expenditure data in adjacent time periods in order to

reflect the effect of any substitution that consumers make across item categories in response to changes in relative

prices. The new measure, said to be a “superlative” index, is designed to be a closer approximation to a “cost-of-living”

index than the CPI-U and CPI-W. The use of expenditure data for both a base period and the current period in order

to average price change across item categories distinguishes the C-CPI-U from the other CPI measures, which use only

a single expenditure base period to compute the price change over time. In 1999, the BLS introduced a geometric

mean estimator for averaging prices within most of the index’s item categories in order to approximate the effect of

consumers’ responses to changes in relative prices within these item categories. The geometric mean estimator is used

in the C-CPI-U in the same item categories in which it is now used in the CPI-U and CPI-W. (See Monthly Labor

Review, October 1998, pp. 3-7.)

Expenditure data required for the calculation of the C-CPI-U are available only with a time lag. Thus, the CCPI-U is being issued first in preliminary form using the latest available expenditure data at this time and will be subject

to two subsequent revisions. Accordingly, with release of the July data, “final” values of the C-CPI-U have been issued

for the 12 months of 2000, “interim” values have been issued for the 12 months of 2001, and “initial” values have been

issued for January-July of 2002. In February 2003, with release of the January 2003 index, revised interim indexes for

the 12 months of 2002 will be published, and the index values for 2001 will be revised and will become final. Then, in

February 2004, when the monthly expenditure data from calendar year 2002 become available, C-CPI-U indexes for

the 12 months of 2002 will be issued in final form and values for the 12 months of 2003 will be revised and issued as

interim. The C-CPI-U index revisions are expected to be small, but in principle each monthly index could be revised

from its previously published level.

BLS previously has calculated superlative indexes on an experimental basis, although these are not comparable

to the C-CPI-U in all computational details. (See, for example, Monthly Labor Review, December 1993, pp. 25-33.)

The C-CPI-U is issued for national averages only and will not be seasonally adjusted. It employs a December

1999=100 reference base. Data for periods prior to December 1999 have not been calculated. The component series

that are published are listed below:

All items Medical care

Food and beverages Medical care commodities

Food Medical care services

Food at home Recreation

Food away from home Education and communication

Alcoholic beverages Education

Housing Communication

Shelter Other goods and services

Fuels and utilities Services

Household furnishings and operations Commodities

Apparel Durables

Transportation Nondurables

Private transportation All items less food and energy

Public transportation Energy
These indexes are published monthly in the CPI news release and the CPI Detailed Report, and the series is

available electronically at the same site as other CPI data: http://www.bls.gov/cpi/.

For more information on the C-CPI-U, write to:

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Division of Consumer Prices and Price Indexes

2 Massachusetts Ave. NE, Room 3130

Washington, DC 20212

Or contact Patrick Jackman or Rob Cage either by telephone at (202) 691-6952 or by electronic mail at

Jackman_P@bls.gov or Cage_R@bls.gov .
Facilities for Sensory Impaired

 Information from this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone:

202-691-5200, Federal Relay Services: 1-800-877-8339. For a recorded message of Summary CPI data, call (202)

691-5200.

Brief Explanation of the CPI

 The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in prices over time of goods and services

purchased by households. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) the CPI for

Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which covers households of wage earners and clerical workers

that comprise approximately 32 percent of the total population and (2) the CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and

the Chained CPI for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U), which cover approximately 87 percent of the total population

and include in addition to wage earners and clerical worker households, 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 CPIs are based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, and fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors’ and

dentists’ services, drugs, and 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 establishmentsdepartment 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 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 or telephone calls of the Bureau’s trained representatives.

 In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each location are averaged together with 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 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. For the C-CPI-U data are issued only at the national level. It is important to note that the CPIU and CPI-W are considered final when released, but the C-CPI-U is issued in preliminary form and subject to two

annual revisions.

 The index measures price change from a designed reference date. For the CPI-U and the CPI-W the reference

base is 1982-84 equals 100.0. The reference base for the C-CPI-U is December 1999 equals 100.

An increase of 16.5 percent from the reference base, 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 visit the CPI home page on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/cpi/ or contact our CPI Information

and Analysis Section on (202) 691-7000.
Calculating Index Changes

 Movements of the indexes from one month to another are usually expressed as percent

changes rather than changes in index points, because index point changes are affected by

the level of the index in relation to its base period while percent changes are not. The

example below illustrates the computation of index point and percent changes.

 Percent changes for 3-month and 6-month periods are expressed as annual rates and

are computed according to the standard formula for compound growth rates. These data

indicate what the percent change would be if the current rate were maintained for a 12-

month period.

Index Point Change

CPI 115.7

Less previous index 111.2

Equals index point change 4.5

Percent Change

Index point difference 4.5

Divided by the previous index 111.2

Equals 0.040

Results multiplied by one hundred 0.040x100

Equals percent change 4.0

Regions Defined

The states in the four regions shown in Tables 3 and 6 are listed below.

The Northeast--Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and

Vermont.

The Midwest--Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and

Wisconsin.

The South--Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma,

South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

The West--Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and

Wyoming.
A Note on Seasonally Adjusted and Unadjusted Data

Because price data are used for different purposes by different groups, the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes

seasonally adjusted as well as unadjusted changes each month.

For analyzing general price trends in the economy, seasonally adjusted changes are usually preferred since they eliminate

the effect of changes that normally occur at the same time and in about the same magnitude every year--such as price

movements resulting from changing climatic conditions, production cycles, model changeovers, holidays, and sales.

The unadjusted data are of primary interest to consumers concerned about the prices they actually pay. Unadjusted

data also are used extensively for escalation purposes. Many collective bargaining contract agreements and pension

plans, for example, tie compensation changes to the Consumer Price Index unadjusted for seasonal variation.

Seasonal factors used in computing the seasonally adjusted indexes are derived by the X-12-ARIMA Seasonal

Adjustment Method. The updated seasonal data at the end of 1977 replaced data from 1967 through 1977.

Subsequent annual updates have replaced 5 years of seasonal data; e.g., data from 1997 through 2001 were replaced

at the end of 2001. In January 2002, dependently seasonally adjusted series were revised for January 1987-December

2001 as a result of a change in the aggregation weights for dependently adjusted series. For further information, please

see “Aggregation of Dependently Adjusted Seasonally Adjusted Series,” in the October 2001 issue of the CPI Detailed

Report.

The seasonal movement of all items and 54 other aggregations is derived by combining the seasonal movement of 73

selected components. Each year the seasonal status of every series is reevaluated based upon certain statistical criteria.

If any of the 73 components change their seasonal adjustment status from seasonally adjusted to not seasonally

adjusted, not seasonally adjusted data will be used for the last 5 years, but the seasonally adjusted indexes will be used

before that period. Note: 39 of the 73 components are seasonally adjusted for 2002.

Seasonally adjusted data, including the All items index levels, are subject to revision for up to five years after their

original release. For this reason, BLS advises against the use of these data in escalation agreements.

 Effective with the calculation of the seasonal factors for 1990, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has used an enhanced

seasonal adjustment procedure called Intervention Analysis Seasonal Adjustment for some CPI series. Intervention

Analysis Seasonal Adjustment allows for better estimates of seasonally adjusted data. Extreme values and/or sharp

movements which might distort the seasonal pattern are estimated and removed from the data prior to calculation of

seasonal factors. Beginning with the calculation of seasonal factors for 1996, X-12-ARIMA software was used for

Intervention Analysis Seasonal Adjustment.

 For the fuel oil, natural gas, motor fuels, and educational books and supplies indexes, this procedure was used to

offset the effects that extreme price volatility would otherwise have had on the estimates of seasonally adjusted data for

those series. For the Nonalcoholic beverages index, the procedure was used to offset the effects of a large increase in

coffee prices due to adverse weather. The procedure was used to account for unusual butter fat supply reductions and

decreases in milk supply affecting the Fats and oils series. For the Water and sewerage maintenance index, the

procedure was used to account for a data collection anomaly. It was used to offset an increase in summer demand in

the Midwest and South for Electricity. For New vehicles, New cars, and New trucks, the procedure was used to offset

the effects of a model changeover combined with financing incentives.
 A description of Intervention Analysis Seasonal Adjustment, as well as a list of unusual events modeled and seasonal

factors for these items may be obtained by writing the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Division of Consumer Prices and

Price Indexes, Washington, DC 20212 or by calling Daniel Chow on (202) 691-6968 or sending e-mail to

Chow_Dan@BLS.GOV. If you have general questions about the CPI, please call our information staff at (202) 691-

7000.
Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): U.S. city average, by expenditure category and commodity and

service group

(1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)

CPI-U

Relative

importance,

December

2001

Unadjusted

indexes

Unadjusted

percent change to

Aug. 2002 from—

Seasonally adjusted

percent change from—

July

2002

Aug.

2002

Aug.

2001

July

2002

May to

June

June to

July

July to

Aug.

Expenditure category

All items ..................................................................................... 100.000 180.1 180.7 1.8 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.3 

All items (1967=100) ................................................................. -

 539.5 541.2 - - - - -

Food and beverages ............................................................... 15.719 176.6 176.6 1.3 .0 .1 .2 -.1 

Food ...................................................................................... 14.688 176.0 176.0 1.2 .0 .0 .2 -.1 

Food at home ...................................................................... 8.468 175.2 174.9 .4 -.2 -.2 .1 -.3 

Cereals and bakery products ............................................ 1.298 198.7 198.6 1.4 -.1 .1 -.2 -.1 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ........................................... 2.271 162.3 162.2 -.1 -.1 -.4 .1 -.4 

Dairy and related products 1 .............................................. .916 167.6 167.2 -1.0 -.2 -.6 -.2 -.2 

Fruits and vegetables ........................................................ 1.204 217.4 217.0 3.9 -.2 -.2 .6 .2 

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials ............. .967 138.3 137.6 -1.7 -.5 -.4 .6 -.6 

Other food at home ........................................................... 1.811 161.0 160.6 -.2 -.2 .5 -.1 -.4 

Sugar and sweets ............................................................ .315 160.2 159.9 2.4 -.2 .5 1.1 -.3 

Fats and oils .................................................................... .265 154.9 154.1 -2.8 -.5 -.5 -.3 -.6 

Other foods ...................................................................... 1.232 177.3 176.9 -.4 -.2 .7 -.4 -.3 

Other miscellaneous foods 1 2 ....................................... .289 110.1 109.3 -.2 -.7 .1 1.0 -.7 

Food away from home 1 ....................................................... 6.220 178.5 178.8 2.3 .2 .3 .2 .2 

Other food away from home 1 2 ......................................... .383 117.7 118.1 3.3 .3 .4 .1 .3 

Alcoholic beverages .............................................................. 1.031 183.8 184.2 2.3 .2 .1 .1 .3 

Housing ................................................................................... 40.873 181.2 181.7 2.1 .3 .1 .1 .3 

Shelter ................................................................................... 31.522 208.8 209.6 3.6 .4 .1 .2 .4 

Rent of primary residence 3 ................................................. 6.421 199.8 200.2 3.7 .2 .3 .3 .2 

Lodging away from home 2 3 ................................................ 2.702 121.7 123.8 -1.1 1.7 -1.1 -1.1 1.8 

Owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence 3 4 ................. 22.046 214.9 215.4 3.9 .2 .3 .3 .3 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ................................. .353 108.6 109.6 2.8 .9 .2 .7 .9 

Fuels and utilities ................................................................... 4.511 146.8 146.8 -3.9 .0 -.1 -.2 .3 

Fuels .................................................................................... 3.654 130.8 130.7 -5.3 -.1 -.2 -.3 .5

Fuel oil and other fuels ...................................................... .188 111.6 112.1 -8.2 .4 .6 .7 1.8 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ............................................... 3.466 138.6 138.5 -5.1 -.1 -.2 -.4 .4 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ................. .857 113.0 113.5 3.0 .4 .1 .2 .3 

Household furnishings and operations .................................. 4.840 128.6 128.1 -.8 -.4 -.3 .0 -.3 

Household operations 1 2 ..................................................... .820 119.0 119.2 2.5 .2 .3 .2 .2 

Apparel .................................................................................... 4.399 118.7 120.5 -1.7 1.5 -.9 -1.0 1.1 

Men’s and boys’ apparel ....................................................... 1.122 118.4 118.3 -2.6 -.1 -.7 .0 -.4 

Women’s and girls’ apparel ................................................... 1.807 107.6 111.0 -1.0 3.2 -.9 -1.0 2.0 

Infants’ and toddlers’ apparel 1 .............................................. .203 122.9 124.3 -1.6 1.1 -2.0 -1.6 1.1 

Footwear ............................................................................... .874 118.5 119.7 -1.8 1.0 -1.2 -1.5 .9 

Transportation ......................................................................... 17.055 153.7 153.9 .4 .1 .1 .3 .4 

Private transportation ............................................................ 15.845 149.5 149.7 .6 .1 .1 .5 .3 

New and used motor vehicles 2 ........................................... 8.614 98.8 98.7 -1.8 -.1 -.1 .1 .2 

New vehicles ..................................................................... 5.083 138.7 138.1 -1.6 -.4 -.1 .0 -.1 

Used cars and trucks ......................................................... 2.195 152.7 153.4 -2.9 .5 .1 .5 .5 

Motor fuel ............................................................................ 2.564 120.8 121.5 -.3 .6 .3 1.2 .8 

Gasoline (all types) ............................................................ 2.536 120.3 120.9 -.2 .5 .4 1.5 .5 

Motor vehicle parts and equipment 1 ................................... .421 107.4 107.7 2.7 .3 -.1 .7 .3 

Motor vehicle maintenance and repair ................................ 1.400 189.8 191.0 3.8 .6 .1 -.1 .6 

Public transportation .............................................................. 1.211 209.7 209.4 -2.0 -.1 -.2 -2.1 .8 

Medical care ............................................................................ 5.810 286.6 287.3 4.7 .2 .2 .7 .2 

Medical care commodities ..................................................... 1.377 257.5 257.7 3.5 .1 .3 .4 .2 

Medical care services ............................................................ 4.434 293.8 294.7 5.1 .3 .2 .7 .2 

Professional services 3 ......................................................... 2.784 255.0 254.9 2.9 .0 .1 .8 .0 

Hospital and related services 3 ............................................ 1.353 367.6 371.3 8.8 1.0 .3 .4 .7 

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): U.S. city average, by expenditure category and commodity and

service group-Continued

(1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)

CPI-U

Relative

importance,

December

2001

Unadjusted

indexes

Unadjusted

percent change to

Aug. 2002 from—

Seasonally adjusted

percent change from—

July

2002

Aug.

2002

Aug.

2001

July

2002

May to

June

June to

July

July to

Aug.

Expenditure category

Recreation 2 ............................................................................. 6.019 106.2 106.3 1.1 0.1 -0.3 0.1 0.1 

Video and audio 2 ................................................................... 1.645 102.6 102.4 .7 -.2 .1 -.4 -.3 

Education and communication 2 .............................................. 5.813 107.6 108.9 2.9 1.2 .3 .7 .7 

Education 2 ............................................................................. 2.726 124.8 127.1 6.4 1.8 .8 .6 .6 

Educational books and supplies .......................................... .220 318.3 319.6 7.2 .4 .6 .5 .1 

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare ............................. 2.506 358.3 365.6 6.3 2.0 .8 .6 .7 

Communication 1 2 ................................................................. 3.087 92.6 93.2 -.3 .6 -.1 .9 .6 

Information and information processing 1 2 .......................... 2.903 90.8 91.5 -1.0 .8 -.1 .2 .8 

Telephone services 1 2 ....................................................... 2.324 99.5 100.6 1.0 1.1 -.1 .3 1.1 

Information and information processing other than

telephone services 1 5 ................................................ .580 18.4 18.3 -11.6 -.5 -.5 .0 -.5 

Personal computers and peripheral equipment 1 2 .......... .275 22.3 22.0 -20.9 -1.3 -1.7 -1.3 -1.3 

Other goods and services ....................................................... 4.312 294.5 295.9 4.4 .5 1.0 .0 .5 

Tobacco and smoking products 1 ........................................... .928 467.2 478.2 12.6 2.4 4.1 .0 2.4 

Personal care 1 ...................................................................... 3.384 175.0 174.9 2.2 -.1 .1 .1 -.1 

Personal care products 1 ...................................................... .706 154.6 154.3 -.3 -.2 .4 -.5 -.2 

Personal care services 1 ...................................................... .901 188.7 189.1 2.1 .2 .0 .2 .2 

Miscellaneous personal services ......................................... 1.562 275.1 275.4 3.7 .1 .3 .3 .0 

Commodity and service group

Commodities ............................................................................. 41.300 149.3 149.6 -.1 .2 .0 .0 .2 

Food and beverages ............................................................... 15.719 176.6 176.6 1.3 .0 .1 .2 -.1 

Commodities less food and beverages ................................... 25.582 133.6 134.0 -1.0 .3 -.1 .0 .3 

Nondurables less food and beverages .................................. 13.493 144.4 145.4 .4 .7 -.4 .3 1.2 

Apparel ................................................................................ 4.399 118.7 120.5 -1.7 1.5 -.9 -1.0 1.1

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel ................. 9.094 164.3 164.8 1.7 .3 -.6 1.2 1.3 

Durables ................................................................................ 12.089 121.1 120.7 -2.3 -.3 -.1 -.1 .0

Services ..................................................................................... 58.700 210.7 211.5 3.1 .4 .1 .2 .4 

Rent of shelter 4 ....................................................................... 31.169 217.4 218.3 3.6 .4 .2 .1 .4 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ..................................... .353 108.6 109.6 2.8 .9 .2 .7 .9 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ..................................................... 3.466 138.6 138.5 -5.1 -.1 -.2 -.4 .4 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ..................... .857 113.0 113.5 3.0 .4 .1 .2 .3 

Household operations 1 2 ......................................................... .820 119.0 119.2 2.5 .2 .3 .2 .2 

Transportation services ........................................................... 6.638 209.6 210.1 3.7 .2 .1 .1 .5 

Medical care services .............................................................. 4.434 293.8 294.7 5.1 .3 .2 .7 .2 

Other services ......................................................................... 10.963 246.4 248.2 3.7 .7 .3 .6 .4 

Special indexes

All items less food ..................................................................... 85.312 180.8 181.5 1.9 .4 .1 .2 .4 

All items less shelter .................................................................. 68.478 170.9 171.3 .9 .2 .0 .2 .2 

All items less medical care ........................................................ 94.190 174.5 175.0 1.6 .3 .1 .1 .3 

Commodities less food .............................................................. 26.612 135.5 135.9 -.9 .3 -.1 .0 .3 

Nondurables less food ............................................................... 14.524 146.7 147.7 .5 .7 -.3 .4 1.1 

Nondurables less food and apparel ........................................... 10.125 165.2 165.8 1.7 .4 -.5 1.2 1.2 

Nondurables .............................................................................. 29.212 160.6 161.2 .9 .4 -.1 .2 .6 

Services less rent of shelter 4 .................................................... 27.531 218.6 219.5 2.6 .4 .3 .3 .5 

Services less medical care services .......................................... 54.266 203.3 204.2 2.9 .4 .1 .1 .4 

Energy ....................................................................................... 6.218 125.5 125.8 -2.8 .2 .0 .4 .6 

All items less energy ................................................................. 93.782 187.5 188.1 2.2 .3 .1 .1 .3 

All items less food and energy ................................................ 79.094 190.3 191.0 2.4 .4 .1 .2 .3 

Commodities less food and energy commodities .................. 23.860 142.5 142.8 -.7 .2 -.1 -.1 .2 

Energy commodities ............................................................ 2.752 120.9 121.5 -.4 .5 .3 1.2 .8 

Services less energy services ............................................... 55.234 218.0 219.0 3.7 .5 .1 .3 .4 

Purchasing power of the consumer dollar (1982-84=$1.00) ..... -

 $ .555 $ .554 - - - - -

Purchasing power of the consumer dollar (1967=$1.00) .......... -

 $ .185 $ .185 - - - - -

1 Not seasonally adjusted. 2 Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. 3 This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other

item stratum index series converted to a geometric means estimator in

January, 1999.

4 Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. 5 Indexes on a December 1988=100 base. - Data not available.

NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.
Table 2. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Seasonally adjusted U.S. city average, by expenditure category

and commodity and service group

(1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)

CPI-U

Seasonally adjusted indexes Seasonally adjusted annual rate percent change for

3 months ended— 6 months

ended—

May

2002

June

2002

July

2002

Aug.

2002

Nov.

2001

Feb.

2002

May

2002

Aug.

2002

Feb.

2002

Aug.

2002

Expenditure category

All items ..................................................................................... 179.5 179.7 179.9 180.5 0.2 1.1 3.4 2.2 0.7 2.8 

Food and beverages ............................................................... 176.3 176.4 176.7 176.6 2.1 2.3 .0 .7 2.2 .3 

Food ...................................................................................... 175.8 175.8 176.1 176.0 2.1 2.3 .0 .5 2.2 .2 

Food at home ...................................................................... 175.4 175.1 175.3 174.8 1.8 2.1 -1.1 -1.4 2.0 -1.2 

Cereals and bakery products ............................................ 198.0 198.1 197.7 197.6 2.1 3.9 .4 -.8 3.0 -.2 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ........................................... 162.9 162.2 162.4 161.7 .7 -1.0 2.5 -2.9 -.1 -.2 

Dairy and related products 1 .............................................. 169.0 168.0 167.6 167.2 5.6 -2.5 -2.6 -4.2 1.4 -3.4 

Fruits and vegetables ........................................................ 219.0 218.5 219.9 220.3 3.4 21.2 -8.8 2.4 12.0 -3.4 

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials ............. 138.3 137.7 138.5 137.6 .0 -3.9 -.9 -2.0 -2.0 -1.4 

Other food at home ........................................................... 159.9 160.7 160.5 159.9 1.3 -1.2 -1.2 .0 .0 -.6 

Sugar and sweets ............................................................ 157.7 158.5 160.2 159.7 1.0 3.9 -.5 5.2 2.5 2.3 

Fats and oils .................................................................... 155.8 155.0 154.6 153.6 -5.0 2.3 -3.0 -5.5 -1.4 -4.3 

Other foods ...................................................................... 176.0 177.3 176.6 176.0 3.0 -3.3 -1.1 .0 -.2 -.6 

Other miscellaneous foods 1 2 ....................................... 108.9 109.0 110.1 109.3 4.1 -9.1 3.4 1.5 -2.7 2.4 

Food away from home 1 ....................................................... 177.6 178.2 178.5 178.8 2.5 2.8 1.4 2.7 2.7 2.0 

Other food away from home 1 2 ......................................... 117.1 117.6 117.7 118.1 3.9 1.4 4.6 3.5 2.6 4.0 

Alcoholic beverages .............................................................. 183.3 183.5 183.7 184.2 2.7 2.7 2.0 2.0 2.7 2.0 

Housing ................................................................................... 180.0 180.1 180.3 180.9 .7 2.7 2.9 2.0 1.7 2.5 

Shelter ................................................................................... 207.6 207.8 208.2 209.0 3.4 5.0 3.1 2.7 4.2 2.9 

Rent of primary residence 3 ................................................. 199.0 199.5 200.0 200.4 4.6 4.4 3.1 2.8 4.5 3.0 

Lodging away from home 2 3 ................................................ 119.4 118.1 116.8 118.9 -9.9 6.6 1.0 -1.7 -2.0 -.3 

Owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence 3 4 ................. 213.9 214.5 215.1 215.7 4.9 4.5 3.2 3.4 4.7 3.3 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ................................. 107.6 107.8 108.6 109.6 1.1 -.4 3.0 7.6 .4 5.3 

Fuels and utilities ................................................................... 143.6 143.5 143.2 143.7 -13.9 -7.8 5.8 .3 -10.9 3.0 

Fuels .................................................................................... 127.4 127.2 126.8 127.4 -17.1 -10.4 6.5 .0 -13.8 3.2 

Fuel oil and other fuels ...................................................... 114.0 114.7 115.5 117.6 -26.8 -31.3 24.6 13.2 -29.1 18.8 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ............................................... 134.7 134.4 133.9 134.4 -16.6 -8.5 5.5 -.9 -12.7 2.3 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ................. 112.7 112.8 113.0 113.3 2.9 3.7 3.3 2.1 3.3 2.7 

Household furnishings and operations .................................. 128.9 128.5 128.5 128.1 .6 -2.1 .9 -2.5 -.8 -.8 

Household operations 1 2 ..................................................... 118.4 118.8 119.0 119.2 2.1 3.5 1.7 2.7 2.8 2.2 

Apparel .................................................................................... 124.7 123.6 122.4 123.7 -.3 -3.5 .3 -3.2 -1.9 -1.4 

Men’s and boys’ apparel ....................................................... 122.0 121.1 121.1 120.6 3.6 -5.9 -3.2 -4.5 -1.3 -3.9 

Women’s and girls’ apparel ................................................... 116.1 115.1 114.0 116.3 -3.7 1.7 -2.7 .7 -1.0 -1.0 

Infants’ and toddlers’ apparel 1 .............................................. 127.4 124.9 122.9 124.3 20.8 -14.8 .6 -9.4 1.4 -4.5 

Footwear ............................................................................... 123.1 121.6 119.8 120.9 -3.5 -3.6 7.1 -7.0 -3.5 -.2 

Transportation ......................................................................... 152.7 152.8 153.3 153.9 -7.9 -3.2 10.6 3.2 -5.5 6.8 

Private transportation ............................................................ 148.4 148.5 149.3 149.8 -8.1 -3.3 10.9 3.8 -5.7 7.3 

New and used motor vehicles 2 ........................................... 99.0 98.9 99.0 99.2 .0 -4.3 -3.6 .8 -2.2 -1.4 

New vehicles ..................................................................... 139.5 139.3 139.3 139.2 2.6 -5.2 -2.8 -.9 -1.4 -1.8 

Used cars and trucks ......................................................... 152.0 152.2 152.9 153.7 -4.7 -4.5 -6.3 4.5 -4.6 -1.0 

Motor fuel ............................................................................ 117.0 117.4 118.8 119.7 -42.2 -13.4 80.1 9.6 -29.3 40.5 

Gasoline (all types) ............................................................ 116.2 116.7 118.4 119.0 -41.8 -13.5 78.7 10.0 -29.0 40.2 

Motor vehicle parts and equipment 1 ................................... 106.8 106.7 107.4 107.7 3.5 1.1 2.7 3.4 2.3 3.0 

Motor vehicle maintenance and repair ................................ 190.1 190.2 190.0 191.2 4.0 3.7 5.0 2.3 3.8 3.7 

Public transportation .............................................................. 211.5 211.1 206.6 208.2 -8.4 -.2 7.5 -6.1 -4.4 .5 

Medical care ............................................................................ 284.0 284.6 286.5 287.1 5.1 4.2 5.2 4.4 4.6 4.8 

Medical care commodities ..................................................... 255.2 255.9 257.0 257.5 4.2 4.2 2.1 3.7 4.2 2.9 

Medical care services ............................................................ 291.2 291.7 293.8 294.4 5.2 4.3 6.3 4.5 4.8 5.4 

Professional services 3 ......................................................... 252.4 252.7 254.8 254.9 3.3 2.1 2.4 4.0 2.7 3.2 

Hospital and related services 3 ............................................ 365.2 366.4 368.0 370.6 8.4 9.0 12.0 6.0 8.7 9.0 

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 2. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Seasonally adjusted U.S. city average, by expenditure category

and commodity and service group-Continued

(1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)

CPI-U

Seasonally adjusted indexes Seasonally adjusted annual rate percent change for

3 months ended— 6 months

ended—

May

2002

June

2002

July

2002

Aug.

2002

Nov.

2001

Feb.

2002

May

2002

Aug.

2002

Feb.

2002

Aug.

2002

Expenditure category

Recreation 2 ............................................................................. 106.3 106.0 106.1 106.2 2.7 0.8 1.5 -0.4 1.7 0.6 

Video and audio 1 2 ................................................................ 102.8 102.9 102.5 102.2 1.6 3.2 .8 -2.3 2.4 -.8 

Education and communication 2 .............................................. 107.1 107.4 108.2 109.0 2.7 2.7 -.4 7.3 2.7 3.4 

Education 2 ............................................................................. 124.6 125.6 126.4 127.2 6.2 6.4 4.6 8.6 6.3 6.6 

Educational books and supplies .......................................... 317.5 319.3 320.9 321.2 7.1 10.2 7.0 4.7 8.7 5.8 

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare ............................. 357.8 360.8 363.1 365.6 6.1 5.9 4.5 9.0 6.0 6.7 

Communication 1 2 ................................................................. 91.9 91.8 92.6 93.2 -.9 -.9 -5.1 5.8 -.9 .2 

Information and information processing 1 2 .......................... 90.7 90.6 90.8 91.5 -.9 -.9 -5.5 3.6 -.9 -1.1 

Telephone services 1 2 ....................................................... 99.3 99.2 99.5 100.6 .0 2.8 -3.9 5.3 1.4 .6 

Information and information processing other than

telephone services 1 5 ................................................ 18.5 18.4 18.4 18.3 -12.9 -18.5 -10.1 -4.3 -15.8 -7.2 

Personal computers and peripheral equipment 1 2 .......... 23.0 22.6 22.3 22.0 -25.8 -27.6 -12.8 -16.3 -26.7 -14.6 

Other goods and services ....................................................... 291.5 294.4 294.5 295.9 8.6 1.4 1.8 6.2 4.9 4.0

Tobacco and smoking products 1 ........................................... 449.0 467.4 467.2 478.2 22.5 2.3 -.3 28.7 12.0 13.3 

Personal care 1 ...................................................................... 174.7 174.9 175.0 174.9 3.3 2.6 2.3 .5 2.9 1.4 

Personal care products 1 ...................................................... 154.8 155.4 154.6 154.3 1.8 .3 -1.8 -1.3 1.0 -1.5 

Personal care services 1 ...................................................... 188.3 188.3 188.7 189.1 3.5 -.9 4.1 1.7 1.3 2.9 

Miscellaneous personal services ......................................... 273.9 274.6 275.4 275.4 4.4 4.4 4.0 2.2 4.4 3.1 

Commodity and service group

Commodities ............................................................................. 149.7 149.7 149.7 150.0 -2.6 -2.1 3.6 .8 -2.4 2.2 

Food and beverages ............................................................... 176.3 176.4 176.7 176.6 2.1 2.3 .0 .7 2.2 .3 

Commodities less food and beverages ................................... 134.3 134.2 134.2 134.6 -5.7 -4.7 5.5 .9 -5.2 3.2 

Nondurables less food and beverages .................................. 145.2 144.6 145.1 146.8 -9.5 -4.7 12.8 4.5 -7.1 8.6 

Apparel ................................................................................ 124.7 123.6 122.4 123.7 -.3 -3.5 .3 -3.2 -1.9 -1.4 

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel ................. 162.1 161.1 163.1 165.2 -12.2 -5.7 19.6 7.9 -9.0 13.6 

Durables ................................................................................ 121.5 121.4 121.3 121.3 -.6 -5.1 -2.9 -.7 -2.9 -1.8 

Services ..................................................................................... 209.2 209.5 210.0 210.8 2.2 3.5 3.5 3.1 2.9 3.3 

Rent of shelter 4 ....................................................................... 216.1 216.5 216.8 217.6 3.5 4.8 3.0 2.8 4.1 2.9 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ..................................... 107.6 107.8 108.6 109.6 1.1 -.4 3.0 7.6 .4 5.3 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ..................................................... 134.7 134.4 133.9 134.4 -16.6 -8.5 5.5 -.9 -12.7 2.3 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ..................... 112.7 112.8 113.0 113.3 2.9 3.7 3.3 2.1 3.3 2.7 

Household operations 1 2 ......................................................... 118.4 118.8 119.0 119.2 2.1 3.5 1.7 2.7 2.8 2.2 

Transportation services ........................................................... 208.9 209.1 209.3 210.3 2.6 4.0 5.1 2.7 3.3 3.9 

Medical care services .............................................................. 291.2 291.7 293.8 294.4 5.2 4.3 6.3 4.5 4.8 5.4 

Other services ......................................................................... 244.9 245.6 247.0 248.1 4.1 3.0 2.5 5.3 3.5 3.9 

Special indexes

All items less food ..................................................................... 180.2 180.3 180.6 181.3 .0 .9 4.1 2.5 .4 3.3 

All items less shelter .................................................................. 170.6 170.6 170.9 171.3 -1.2 -.5 3.8 1.7 -.8 2.7 

All items less medical care ........................................................ 174.0 174.1 174.3 174.9 -.2 1.2 3.3 2.1 .5 2.7 

Commodities less food .............................................................. 136.2 136.1 136.1 136.5 -5.4 -4.3 5.5 .9 -4.9 3.1 

Nondurables less food ............................................................... 147.4 146.9 147.5 149.1 -8.6 -4.6 11.9 4.7 -6.6 8.3 

Nondurables less food and apparel ........................................... 163.1 162.3 164.2 166.1 -11.0 -4.9 17.4 7.6 -8.0 12.4 

Nondurables .............................................................................. 160.9 160.7 161.1 162.0 -3.4 -1.5 6.2 2.8 -2.5 4.5 

Services less rent of shelter 4 .................................................... 216.5 217.1 217.7 218.7 .8 1.1 4.2 4.1 .9 4.1 

Services less medical care services .......................................... 202.0 202.2 202.5 203.4 2.0 3.1 3.6 2.8 2.5 3.2 

Energy ....................................................................................... 122.0 122.0 122.5 123.2 -28.7 -11.2 34.4 4.0 -20.4 18.2 

All items less energy ................................................................. 187.2 187.4 187.6 188.2 3.1 2.2 1.5 2.2 2.6 1.8 

All items less food and energy ................................................ 190.1 190.2 190.5 191.1 3.0 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.6 2.1 

Commodities less food and energy commodities .................. 143.8 143.6 143.4 143.7 1.7 -3.0 -1.4 -.3 -.7 -.8 

Energy commodities ............................................................ 117.4 117.8 119.2 120.2 -40.9 -14.3 75.5 9.9 -28.8 38.9 

Services less energy services ............................................... 216.8 217.1 217.7 218.6 3.7 4.4 3.4 3.4 4.0 3.4 

1 Not seasonally adjusted. 2 Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. 3 This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other

item stratum index series converted to a geometric means estimator in

January, 1999. 4 Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. 5 Indexes on a December 1988=100 base.

NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.
Table 3. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Selected areas, all items index 

(1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)

CPI-U

All items 

Pricing

schedule 1

Indexes Percent change to

Aug.2002 from—

Percent change to

July2002 from—

May

2002

June

2002

July

2002

Aug.

2002

Aug.

2001

June

2002

July

2002

July

2001

May

2002

June

2002

U.S. city average ........................................... M 179.8 179.9 180.1 180.7 1.8 0.4 0.3 1.5 0.2 0.1 

Region and area size2

Northeast urban ............................................. M 187.7 187.8 188.3 189.3 2.3 .8 .5 1.8 .3 .3 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ................... M 189.2 189.5 190.1 191.3 2.6 .9 .6 2.1 .5 .3 

Size B/C 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................. M 112.0 111.6 111.8 112.0 1.4 .4 .2 1.0 -.2 .2 

Midwest urban ............................................... M 174.8 175.3 175.3 175.8 1.6 .3 .3 1.6 .3 .0 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 .................. M 177.2 177.7 177.5 178.2 1.9 .3 .4 1.8 .2 -.1 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 110.8 111.2 111.3 111.4 1.0 .2 .1 1.2 .5 .1 

Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than

50,000) .............................................. M 168.2 168.9 169.4 169.7 1.7 .5 .2 2.0 .7 .3 

South urban ................................................... M 173.2 173.5 173.6 173.8 1.3 .2 .1 1.2 .2 .1 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ................... M 174.6 174.9 174.8 175.4 1.8 .3 .3 1.3 .1 -.1 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ............... M 110.7 110.9 111.0 110.9 1.0 .0 -.1 1.1 .3 .1 

Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than

50,000) .............................................. M 170.6 171.6 172.2 172.7 1.5 .6 .3 1.2 .9 .3 

West urban .................................................... M 184.8 184.5 184.7 185.3 1.9 .4 .3 1.5 -.1 .1 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 .................. M 187.5 187.2 187.4 187.9 2.1 .4 .3 1.7 -.1 .1 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 112.5 112.2 112.5 113.0 1.6 .7 .4 1.0 .0 .3 

Size classes

A 4 .............................................................. M 164.3 164.5 164.6 165.3 2.1 .5 .4 1.7 .2 .1 

B/C 3 ........................................................... M 111.2 111.3 111.4 111.5 1.2 .2 .1 1.0 .2 .1 

D ................................................................ M 172.4 173.0 173.3 173.9 1.6 .5 .3 1.3 .5 .2 

Selected local areas5

Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI .................. M 181.4 182.1 181.2 181.6 2.0 -.3 .2 2.0 -.1 -.5 

Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA .. M 182.6 181.9 182.2 183.0 2.6 .6 .4 2.2 -.2 .2 

New York-Northern N.J.-Long Island,

NY-NJ-CT-PA ........................................ M 191.4 191.5 192.0 193.1 2.7 .8 .6 2.2 .3 .3 

Boston-Brockton-Nashua, MA-NH-ME-CT .... 1 194.8 -

 195.7 - - - - 1.9 .5 -

Cleveland-Akron, OH ..................................... 1 173.0 - 173.4 - - - - .0 .2 -

Dallas-Fort Worth, TX .................................... 1 172.9 -

 172.9 - - - - .8 .0 -

Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV 6 ...... 1 112.8 - 113.4 - - - - 2.3 .5 -

Atlanta, GA .................................................... 2 -

 179.1 - 179.7 1.6 .3 - - - -

Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI ............................. 2 -

 179.0 - 180.9 3.3 1.1 - - - -

Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX ................... 2 - 158.3 - 160.1 .9 1.1 - - - -

Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL ............................ 2 -

 174.4 - 175.2 1.0 .5 - - - -

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City,

PA-NJ-DE-MD ....................................... 2 -

 186.3 - 188.3 3.0 1.1 - - - -

San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA .......... 2 -

 193.2 - 193.5 1.3 .2 - - - -

Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA ................... 2 - 189.4 - 190.3 1.9 .5 - - - -

1 Foods, fuels, and several other items priced every month in all areas; 

 most other goods and services priced as indicated: 

 M - Every month. 

 1 - January, March, May, July, September, and November. 

 2 - February, April, June, August, October, and December. 2 Regions defined as the four Census regions. See technical notes. 3 Indexes on a December 1996=100 base. 4 Indexes on a December 1986=100 base. 5 In addition, the following metropolitan areas are published semiannually

and appear in Tables 34 and 39 of the January and July issues of the CPI

Detailed Report: Anchorage, AK; Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH-KY-IN;

Denver-Boulder-Greeley, CO; Honolulu, HI; Kansas City, MO-KS;

Milwaukee-Racine, WI; Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI; Phoenix-Mesa, AZ;

Pittsburgh, PA; Portland-Salem, OR-WA; St. Louis, MO-IL; San Diego, CA;

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL. 6 Indexes on a November 1996=100 base. - Data not available.

NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

 

NOTE: Local area indexes are byproducts of the national CPI program. 

Each local index has a smaller sample size than the national index and is,

therefore, subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement

error. As a result, local area indexes show greater volatility than the national

index, although their long-term trends are similar. Therefore, the Bureau of

Labor Statistics strongly urges users to consider adopting the national

average CPI for use in their escalator clauses. 
Table 4. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W): U.S. city average, by expenditure category

and commodity and service group

(1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)

CPI-W

Relative

importance,

December

2001

Unadjusted

indexes

Unadjusted

percent change to

Aug. 2002 from—

Seasonally adjusted

percent change from—

July

2002

Aug.

2002

Aug.

2001

July

2002

May to

June

June to

July

July to

Aug.

Expenditure category

All items ..................................................................................... 100.000 176.1 176.6 1.6 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.3 

All items (1967=100) ................................................................. -

 524.5 526.0 - - - - -

Food and beverages ............................................................... 17.229 176.0 175.9 1.2 -.1 .1 .1 -.1 

Food ...................................................................................... 16.228 175.4 175.3 1.1 -.1 .1 .2 -.1

Food at home ...................................................................... 9.798 174.3 174.0 .4 -.2 -.1 .1 -.2 

Cereals and bakery products ............................................ 1.468 198.7 198.5 1.5 -.1 -.1 .1 -.3 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ........................................... 2.831 162.2 162.0 .0 -.1 -.4 .2 -.4 

Dairy and related products 1 .............................................. 1.021 167.4 167.0 -1.1 -.2 -.5 -.2 -.2 

Fruits and vegetables ........................................................ 1.307 216.4 216.2 3.9 -.1 .1 .5 .3 

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials ............. 1.132 137.6 136.9 -1.7 -.5 -.4 .7 -.7 

Other food at home ........................................................... 2.038 160.5 160.1 -.2 -.2 .6 -.2 -.3 

Sugar and sweets ............................................................ .339 159.9 159.6 2.2 -.2 1.0 .6 -.2 

Fats and oils .................................................................... .316 154.7 154.0 -2.5 -.5 -.5 -.3 -.5 

Other foods ...................................................................... 1.383 177.6 177.3 -.3 -.2 .7 -.5 -.3 

Other miscellaneous foods 1 2 ....................................... .310 110.8 109.9 .2 -.8 .1 1.1 -.8 

Food away from home 1 ....................................................... 6.430 178.4 178.7 2.3 .2 .3 .2 .2 

Other food away from home 1 2 ......................................... .275 118.2 118.5 3.6 .3 .3 .1 .3 

Alcoholic beverages .............................................................. 1.001 183.6 183.8 2.3 .1 .1 .1 .2 

Housing ................................................................................... 38.141 176.5 176.9 2.0 .2 .1 .2 .2 

Shelter ................................................................................... 29.212 202.3 202.9 3.6 .3 .1 .2 .2 

Rent of primary residence 3 ................................................. 8.395 199.2 199.6 3.7 .2 .3 .3 .2 

Lodging away from home 2 3 ................................................ 1.523 121.3 122.9 -1.2 1.3 -2.3 -.6 1.6 

Owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence 3 4 ................. 18.980 195.2 195.7 3.8 .3 .3 .3 .2 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ................................. .314 108.7 109.7 2.7 .9 .3 .7 .9 

Fuels and utilities ................................................................... 4.829 146.1 146.2 -3.9 .1 .1 -.3 .4 

Fuels .................................................................................... 3.955 129.6 129.6 -5.4 .0 .1 -.4 .5 

Fuel oil and other fuels ...................................................... .177 110.9 111.3 -8.4 .4 .4 .7 1.6 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ............................................... 3.778 137.5 137.4 -5.4 -.1 .1 -.4 .4 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ................. .873 113.1 113.5 3.0 .4 .2 .2 .3 

Household furnishings and operations .................................. 4.101 124.7 124.2 -1.2 -.4 -.2 .0 -.3 

Household operations 1 2 ..................................................... .357 119.7 120.0 2.4 .3 .4 .1 .3 

Apparel .................................................................................... 4.831 118.0 119.6 -1.6 1.4 -.9 -1.0 1.1 

Men’s and boys’ apparel ....................................................... 1.243 118.6 118.2 -2.8 -.3 -.9 .2 -.5 

Women’s and girls’ apparel ................................................... 1.864 106.5 109.6 -.5 2.9 -.9 -1.4 2.3 

Infants’ and toddlers’ apparel 1 .............................................. .256 125.3 126.8 -1.2 1.2 -1.8 -1.7 1.2 

Footwear ............................................................................... 1.165 118.2 119.6 -2.0 1.2 -1.3 -1.3 .9

Transportation ......................................................................... 19.393 152.7 153.0 .3 .2 .2 .4 .5 

Private transportation ............................................................ 18.452 149.9 150.2 .5 .2 .2 .5 .4 

New and used motor vehicles 2 ........................................... 10.145 99.1 99.1 -1.9 .0 -.1 .3 .2 

New vehicles ..................................................................... 4.897 139.8 139.1 -1.6 -.5 -.1 .0 .0 

Used cars and trucks ......................................................... 4.099 153.6 154.2 -3.0 .4 .1 .6 .4 

Motor fuel ............................................................................ 3.153 121.2 121.8 -.2 .5 .5 1.2 .8 

Gasoline (all types) ............................................................ 3.120 120.6 121.3 .0 .6 .5 1.1 .8 

Motor vehicle parts and equipment 1 ................................... .530 106.7 107.0 2.8 .3 -.1 .8 .3 

Motor vehicle maintenance and repair ................................ 1.438 191.4 192.5 3.7 .6 .1 -.1 .7 

Public transportation .............................................................. .941 204.7 204.5 -1.5 -.1 -.1 -1.8 .7 

Medical care ............................................................................ 4.620 285.6 286.3 4.7 .2 .1 .8 .2 

Medical care commodities ..................................................... 1.006 252.3 252.3 3.4 .0 .1 .5 .1 

Medical care services ............................................................ 3.614 293.5 294.5 5.1 .3 .1 .9 .2 

Professional services 3 ......................................................... 2.245 257.2 256.9 2.8 -.1 .1 .8 .0 

Hospital and related services 3 ............................................ 1.092 363.2 367.1 8.9 1.1 .4 .5 .8 

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 4. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W): U.S. city average, by expenditure category

and commodity and service group-Continued

(1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)

CPI-W

Relative

importance,

December

2001

Unadjusted

indexes

Unadjusted

percent change to

Aug. 2002 from—

Seasonally adjusted

percent change from—

July

2002

Aug.

2002

Aug.

2001

July

2002

May to

June

June to

July

July to

Aug.

Expenditure category

Recreation 2 ............................................................................. 5.649 104.6 104.7 0.8 0.1 -0.3 0.1 0.0 

Video and audio 2 ................................................................... 1.803 101.8 101.6 .6 -.2 .1 -.5 -.3 

Education and communication 2 .............................................. 5.637 107.4 108.6 2.6 1.1 .3 .7 .7 

Education 2 ............................................................................. 2.382 124.8 126.9 6.1 1.7 .9 .5 .7 

Educational books and supplies .......................................... .203 319.1 320.4 6.0 .4 .6 .7 .3 

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare ............................. 2.178 351.4 357.7 6.0 1.8 .9 .4 .8 

Communication 1 2 ................................................................. 3.255 93.9 94.6 -.1 .7 -.2 .9 .7 

Information and information processing 1 2 .......................... 3.107 92.7 93.4 -.6 .8 -.1 .3 .8 

Telephone services 1 2 ....................................................... 2.591 99.7 100.8 1.0 1.1 -.1 .4 1.1 

Information and information processing other than

telephone services 1 5 ................................................ .516 19.1 18.9 -12.1 -1.0 -.5 .0 -1.0 

Personal computers and peripheral equipment 1 2 .......... .253 22.1 21.7 -20.8 -1.8 -1.8 -.9 -1.8 

Other goods and services ....................................................... 4.499 303.5 306.0 5.5 .8 1.5 .0 .8 

Tobacco and smoking products 1 ........................................... 1.441 468.8 480.7 12.9 2.5 4.1 .0 2.5 

Personal care 1 ...................................................................... 3.059 174.4 174.3 2.0 -.1 .2 .0 -.1 

Personal care products 1 ...................................................... .815 155.3 155.1 -.3 -.1 .5 -.6 -.1 

Personal care services 1 ...................................................... .900 189.4 189.8 2.1 .2 -.1 .2 .2 

Miscellaneous personal services ......................................... 1.161 274.7 275.2 3.9 .2 .4 .2 .1 

Commodity and service group

Commodities ............................................................................. 45.559 150.1 150.4 -.1 .2 .1 .1 .2 

Food and beverages ............................................................... 17.229 176.0 175.9 1.2 -.1 .1 .1 -.1 

Commodities less food and beverages ................................... 28.330 135.2 135.6 -.9 .3 .0 .1 .4 

Nondurables less food and beverages .................................. 14.685 146.5 147.7 .8 .8 -.7 .7 1.6 

Apparel ................................................................................ 4.831 118.0 119.6 -1.6 1.4 -.9 -1.0 1.1

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel ................. 9.854 167.6 168.5 2.2 .5 -.7 1.5 1.6 

Durables ................................................................................ 13.645 121.5 121.3 -2.4 -.2 -.2 .0 .0 

Services ..................................................................................... 54.441 206.6 207.3 3.0 .3 .2 .2 .3 

Rent of shelter 4 ....................................................................... 28.898 194.8 195.5 3.6 .4 .1 .3 .2 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ..................................... .314 108.7 109.7 2.7 .9 .3 .7 .9 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ..................................................... 3.778 137.5 137.4 -5.4 -.1 .1 -.4 .4 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ..................... .873 113.1 113.5 3.0 .4 .2 .2 .3 

Household operations 1 2 ......................................................... .357 119.7 120.0 2.4 .3 .4 .1 .3 

Transportation services ........................................................... 6.573 208.0 208.6 4.4 .3 .1 .3 .5 

Medical care services .............................................................. 3.614 293.5 294.5 5.1 .3 .1 .9 .2 

Other services ......................................................................... 10.033 241.6 243.4 3.5 .7 .3 .5 .5 

Special indexes

All items less food ..................................................................... 83.772 176.1 176.7 1.7 .3 .1 .2 .4 

All items less shelter .................................................................. 70.788 168.4 168.9 .8 .3 .1 .2 .4 

All items less medical care ........................................................ 95.380 171.3 171.8 1.5 .3 .1 .2 .3 

Commodities less food .............................................................. 29.331 136.9 137.4 -.8 .4 .1 .0 .4 

Nondurables less food ............................................................... 15.687 148.7 149.8 .9 .7 -.7 .7 1.3 

Nondurables less food and apparel ........................................... 10.855 168.3 169.2 2.3 .5 -.7 1.4 1.6 

Nondurables .............................................................................. 31.915 161.6 162.2 1.1 .4 -.2 .2 .7 

Services less rent of shelter 4 .................................................... 25.543 194.1 194.9 2.5 .4 .3 .4 .5 

Services less medical care services .......................................... 50.827 199.6 200.3 2.9 .4 .1 .3 .4 

Energy ....................................................................................... 7.109 124.7 125.0 -2.8 .2 .2 .4 .7 

All items less energy ................................................................. 92.891 183.3 183.8 2.1 .3 .1 .2 .3 

All items less food and energy ................................................ 76.663 185.4 186.0 2.3 .3 .1 .2 .3 

Commodities less food and energy commodities .................. 26.001 143.2 143.7 -.6 .3 -.1 -.1 .3 

Energy commodities ............................................................ 3.330 121.2 121.8 -.2 .5 .5 1.2 .8 

Services less energy services ............................................... 50.663 214.3 215.1 3.8 .4 .2 .3 .3 

Purchasing power of the consumer dollar (1982-84=$1.00) ..... -

 $ .568 $ .566 - - - - -

Purchasing power of the consumer dollar (1967=$1.00) .......... -

 $ .191 $ .190 - - - - -

1 Not seasonally adjusted. 2 Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. 3 This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other

item stratum index series converted to a geometric means estimator in

January, 1999.

4 Indexes on a December 1984=100 base 5 Indexes on a December 1988=100 base. - Data not available.

NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.
Table 5. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W): Seasonally adjusted U.S. city average, by

expenditure category and commodity and service group

(1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)

CPI-W

Seasonally adjusted indexes Seasonally adjusted annual rate percent change for

3 months ended— 6 months

ended—

May

2002

June

2002

July

2002

Aug.

2002

Nov.

2001

Feb.

2002

May

2002

Aug.

2002

Feb.

2002

Aug.

2002

Expenditure category

All items ..................................................................................... 175.5 175.7 176.0 176.5 0.0 0.7 3.5 2.3 0.3 2.9 

Food and beverages ............................................................... 175.7 175.8 176.0 175.9 2.1 2.3 .0 .5 2.2 .2 

Food ...................................................................................... 175.1 175.2 175.5 175.3 2.1 2.1 -.2 .5 2.1 .1 

Food at home ...................................................................... 174.4 174.2 174.4 174.0 1.9 2.1 -1.4 -.9 2.0 -1.1 

Cereals and bakery products ............................................ 198.0 197.8 198.0 197.5 2.3 3.7 1.0 -1.0 3.0 .0 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs ........................................... 162.6 162.0 162.3 161.7 1.0 -.7 2.0 -2.2 .1 -.1 

Dairy and related products 1 .............................................. 168.7 167.8 167.4 167.0 5.6 -2.8 -3.0 -4.0 1.3 -3.5 

Fruits and vegetables ........................................................ 217.3 217.5 218.6 219.2 2.9 21.7 -9.8 3.5 11.9 -3.4 

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials ............. 137.5 137.0 137.9 137.0 -.3 -4.0 -1.2 -1.4 -2.1 -1.3 

Other food at home ........................................................... 159.5 160.4 160.0 159.5 1.3 -1.0 -1.5 .0 .1 -.7 

Sugar and sweets ............................................................ 157.3 158.8 159.7 159.4 1.0 4.2 -1.5 5.4 2.6 1.9 

Fats and oils .................................................................... 155.5 154.8 154.4 153.6 -4.7 2.6 -3.0 -4.8 -1.1 -3.9 

Other foods ...................................................................... 176.5 177.7 176.9 176.4 2.7 -2.9 -1.1 -.2 -.1 -.7 

Other miscellaneous foods 1 2 ....................................... 109.5 109.6 110.8 109.9 4.1 -8.0 3.7 1.5 -2.2 2.6 

Food away from home 1 ....................................................... 177.5 178.0 178.4 178.7 2.5 2.5 1.4 2.7 2.5 2.0 

Other food away from home 1 2 ......................................... 117.7 118.1 118.2 118.5 5.0 .7 6.0 2.7 2.8 4.4 

Alcoholic beverages .............................................................. 183.1 183.2 183.4 183.8 2.5 2.5 2.7 1.5 2.5 2.1 

Housing ................................................................................... 175.4 175.5 175.8 176.2 .9 2.3 2.8 1.8 1.6 2.3 

Shelter ................................................................................... 201.3 201.6 202.0 202.5 3.9 4.7 3.0 2.4 4.3 2.7 

Rent of primary residence 3 ................................................. 198.3 198.9 199.4 199.8 4.6 4.2 3.1 3.1 4.4 3.1 

Lodging away from home 2 3 ................................................ 119.9 117.2 116.5 118.4 -8.7 9.5 .3 -4.9 .0 -2.3 

Owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence 3 4 ................. 194.4 194.9 195.4 195.7 4.7 4.5 3.1 2.7 4.6 2.9 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ................................. 107.6 107.9 108.7 109.7 1.1 -1.1 3.0 8.0 .0 5.5 

Fuels and utilities ................................................................... 142.6 142.8 142.4 143.0 -13.5 -7.8 4.3 1.1 -10.7 2.7 

Fuels .................................................................................... 126.0 126.1 125.6 126.2 -16.8 -10.2 4.9 .6 -13.5 2.7 

Fuel oil and other fuels ...................................................... 113.4 113.8 114.6 116.4 -21.9 -32.8 21.1 11.0 -27.5 15.9 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ............................................... 133.3 133.4 132.9 133.4 -16.4 -8.6 4.0 .3 -12.6 2.1 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ................. 112.7 112.9 113.1 113.4 2.9 3.7 2.9 2.5 3.3 2.7 

Household furnishings and operations .................................. 124.9 124.6 124.6 124.2 .3 -2.5 -.3 -2.2 -1.1 -1.3 

Household operations 1 2 ..................................................... 119.1 119.6 119.7 120.0 2.1 3.8 .7 3.1 2.9 1.9 

Apparel .................................................................................... 123.8 122.7 121.5 122.8 .6 -4.7 1.0 -3.2 -2.1 -1.1 

Men’s and boys’ apparel ....................................................... 122.2 121.1 121.3 120.7 2.3 -5.3 -2.9 -4.8 -1.6 -3.9 

Women’s and girls’ apparel ................................................... 115.0 114.0 112.4 115.0 -1.4 .3 -.7 .0 -.5 -.3 

Infants’ and toddlers’ apparel 1 .............................................. 129.9 127.5 125.3 126.8 20.1 -16.4 4.8 -9.2 .2 -2.5 

Footwear ............................................................................... 122.9 121.3 119.7 120.8 -2.6 -4.8 6.8 -6.7 -3.7 -.2 

Transportation ......................................................................... 151.5 151.8 152.4 153.1 -8.9 -3.7 11.0 4.3 -6.3 7.6 

Private transportation ............................................................ 148.6 148.9 149.7 150.3 -9.0 -3.8 11.2 4.7 -6.4 7.9 

New and used motor vehicles 2 ........................................... 99.2 99.1 99.4 99.6 -.4 -4.7 -3.9 1.6 -2.5 -1.2 

New vehicles ..................................................................... 140.6 140.4 140.4 140.4 3.1 -5.7 -2.8 -.6 -1.4 -1.7 

Used cars and trucks ......................................................... 152.8 153.0 153.9 154.5 -4.9 -5.0 -6.3 4.5 -5.0 -1.0 

Motor fuel ............................................................................ 117.1 117.7 119.1 120.1 -42.8 -12.7 80.0 10.6 -29.4 41.1 

Gasoline (all types) ............................................................ 116.6 117.2 118.5 119.5 -42.4 -12.8 80.5 10.3 -29.1 41.1 

Motor vehicle parts and equipment 1 ................................... 106.0 105.9 106.7 107.0 3.5 1.1 2.7 3.8 2.3 3.3 

Motor vehicle maintenance and repair ................................ 191.6 191.7 191.6 192.9 3.5 3.9 4.9 2.7 3.7 3.8 

Public transportation .............................................................. 205.9 205.7 202.0 203.5 -7.5 .6 6.0 -4.6 -3.5 .6 

Medical care ............................................................................ 282.9 283.2 285.4 286.0 4.9 4.1 5.4 4.5 4.5 4.9 

Medical care commodities ..................................................... 250.3 250.5 251.8 252.1 4.2 4.1 2.4 2.9 4.1 2.7 

Medical care services ............................................................ 290.6 291.0 293.5 294.2 5.1 4.2 6.1 5.0 4.6 5.6 

Professional services 3 ......................................................... 254.5 254.8 256.9 256.9 3.2 1.9 2.4 3.8 2.6 3.1 

Hospital and related services 3 ............................................ 360.1 361.7 363.5 366.4 8.3 8.4 12.1 7.2 8.4 9.6 

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 5. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W): Seasonally adjusted U.S. city average, by

expenditure category and commodity and service group-Continued

(1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)

CPI-W

Seasonally adjusted indexes Seasonally adjusted annual rate percent change for

3 months ended— 6 months

ended—

May

2002

June

2002

July

2002

Aug.

2002

Nov.

2001

Feb.

2002

May

2002

Aug.

2002

Feb.

2002

Aug.

2002

Expenditure category

Recreation 2 ............................................................................. 104.7 104.4 104.5 104.5 1.6 1.2 1.2 -0.8 1.4 0.2 

Video and audio 1 2 ................................................................ 102.1 102.2 101.7 101.4 .8 3.6 .8 -2.7 2.2 -1.0 

Education and communication 2 .............................................. 106.9 107.2 107.9 108.7 2.3 2.3 -.7 6.9 2.3 3.0 

Education 2 ............................................................................. 124.5 125.6 126.2 127.1 5.8 5.0 5.0 8.6 5.4 6.8 

Educational books and supplies .......................................... 317.5 319.5 321.7 322.6 8.8 1.2 7.5 6.6 4.9 7.0 

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare ............................. 350.5 353.8 355.3 358.0 5.4 5.5 4.5 8.8 5.5 6.6 

Communication 1 2 ................................................................. 93.3 93.1 93.9 94.6 -.8 .0 -5.0 5.7 -.4 .2 

Information and information processing 1 2 .......................... 92.5 92.4 92.7 93.4 -.8 -.4 -5.0 3.9 -.6 -.6 

Telephone services 1 2 ....................................................... 99.4 99.3 99.7 100.8 -.4 3.2 -4.3 5.8 1.4 .6 

Information and information processing other than

telephone services 1 5 ................................................ 19.2 19.1 19.1 18.9 -12.4 -19.5 -9.8 -6.1 -16.0 -8.0 

Personal computers and peripheral equipment 1 2 .......... 22.7 22.3 22.1 21.7 -25.0 -27.9 -12.9 -16.5 -26.4 -14.7 

Other goods and services ....................................................... 299.1 303.5 303.5 306.0 10.5 1.4 1.1 9.6 5.8 5.2 

Tobacco and smoking products 1 ........................................... 450.1 468.7 468.8 480.7 23.1 2.2 -.5 30.1 12.1 13.8 

Personal care 1 ...................................................................... 174.0 174.4 174.4 174.3 3.3 2.1 1.9 .7 2.7 1.3 

Personal care products 1 ...................................................... 155.4 156.2 155.3 155.1 1.6 .5 -2.3 -.8 1.0 -1.5 

Personal care services 1 ...................................................... 189.1 189.0 189.4 189.8 3.3 -.6 4.3 1.5 1.3 2.9 

Miscellaneous personal services ......................................... 273.3 274.4 275.0 275.2 4.5 4.7 3.6 2.8 4.6 3.2 

Commodity and service group

Commodities ............................................................................. 150.3 150.4 150.5 150.8 -2.6 -2.6 3.8 1.3 -2.6 2.6 

Food and beverages ............................................................... 175.7 175.8 176.0 175.9 2.1 2.3 .0 .5 2.2 .2 

Commodities less food and beverages ................................... 135.6 135.6 135.7 136.3 -6.0 -5.2 6.1 2.1 -5.6 4.1 

Nondurables less food and beverages .................................. 147.0 145.9 146.9 149.2 -9.6 -5.7 14.5 6.1 -7.7 10.2 

Apparel ................................................................................ 123.8 122.7 121.5 122.8 .6 -4.7 1.0 -3.2 -2.1 -1.1 

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel ................. 165.1 163.9 166.3 169.0 -13.5 -5.9 22.3 9.8 -9.8 15.9 

Durables ................................................................................ 122.0 121.8 121.8 121.8 -1.0 -5.4 -2.6 -.7 -3.2 -1.6 

Services ..................................................................................... 205.1 205.5 206.0 206.7 2.4 3.2 3.4 3.2 2.8 3.3 

Rent of shelter 4 ....................................................................... 193.9 194.1 194.7 195.1 3.9 4.9 2.9 2.5 4.4 2.7 

Tenants’ and household insurance 1 2 ..................................... 107.6 107.9 108.7 109.7 1.1 -1.1 3.0 8.0 .0 5.5 

Gas (piped) and electricity 3 ..................................................... 133.3 133.4 132.9 133.4 -16.4 -8.6 4.0 .3 -12.6 2.1 

Water and sewer and trash collection services 2 ..................... 112.7 112.9 113.1 113.4 2.9 3.7 2.9 2.5 3.3 2.7 

Household operations 1 2 ......................................................... 119.1 119.6 119.7 120.0 2.1 3.8 .7 3.1 2.9 1.9 

Transportation services ........................................................... 207.1 207.4 208.0 209.0 3.9 4.6 5.4 3.7 4.2 4.6 

Medical care services .............................................................. 290.6 291.0 293.5 294.2 5.1 4.2 6.1 5.0 4.6 5.6 

Other services ......................................................................... 240.0 240.8 242.0 243.3 3.3 3.2 2.0 5.6 3.3 3.8 

Special indexes

All items less food ..................................................................... 175.4 175.6 175.9 176.6 -.5 .5 4.2 2.8 .0 3.5 

All items less shelter .................................................................. 168.0 168.1 168.4 169.0 -1.7 -1.0 3.9 2.4 -1.3 3.1 

All items less medical care ........................................................ 170.7 170.9 171.2 171.7 -.2 .5 3.3 2.4 .1 2.9 

Commodities less food .............................................................. 137.3 137.4 137.4 138.0 -5.6 -5.1 6.0 2.1 -5.4 4.0 

Nondurables less food ............................................................... 149.2 148.2 149.3 151.2 -9.3 -5.1 14.0 5.5 -7.2 9.6 

Nondurables less food and apparel ........................................... 165.8 164.7 167.0 169.7 -12.2 -5.6 20.0 9.7 -8.9 14.8 

Nondurables .............................................................................. 161.8 161.5 161.9 163.0 -3.7 -1.7 7.0 3.0 -2.7 5.0 

Services less rent of shelter 4 .................................................... 192.0 192.6 193.4 194.4 .6 .8 4.1 5.1 .7 4.6 

Services less medical care services .......................................... 198.3 198.5 199.0 199.7 2.1 2.7 3.7 2.9 2.4 3.3 

Energy ....................................................................................... 120.9 121.2 121.7 122.5 -30.1 -11.0 35.3 5.4 -21.1 19.4 

All items less energy ................................................................. 183.1 183.3 183.6 184.1 2.9 1.8 1.3 2.2 2.3 1.8 

All items less food and energy ................................................ 185.2 185.4 185.7 186.3 3.3 1.5 1.7 2.4 2.4 2.1 

Commodities less food and energy commodities .................. 144.4 144.3 144.1 144.6 2.2 -3.5 -1.6 .6 -.7 -.6 

Energy commodities ............................................................ 117.4 118.0 119.4 120.4 -41.6 -13.6 76.2 10.6 -29.0 39.6 

Services less energy services ............................................... 213.1 213.5 214.2 214.9 3.9 4.3 3.3 3.4 4.1 3.3 

1 Not seasonally adjusted. 2 Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. 3 This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other

item stratum index series converted to a geometric means estimator in

January, 1999. 4 Indexes on a December 1984=100 base 5 Indexes on a December 1988=100 base.

NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.
Table 6. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W): Selected areas, all items index 

(1982-84=100, unless otherwise noted)

CPI-W

All items 

Pricing

schedule 1

Indexes Percent change to

Aug.2002 from—

Percent change to

July2002 from—

May

2002

June

2002

July

2002

Aug.

2002

Aug.

2001

June

2002

July

2002

July

2001

May

2002

June

2002

U.S. city average ........................................... M 175.8 175.9 176.1 176.6 1.6 0.4 0.3 1.3 0.2 0.1 

Region and area size2

Northeast urban ............................................. M 184.1 184.2 184.7 185.7 2.2 .8 .5 1.6 .3 .3 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ................... M 184.3 184.6 185.2 186.4 2.3 1.0 .6 1.7 .5 .3 

Size B/C 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................. M 111.7 111.4 111.7 112.0 2.0 .5 .3 1.5 .0 .3 

Midwest urban ............................................... M 170.3 170.7 170.8 171.3 1.4 .4 .3 1.4 .3 .1 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 .................. M 172.0 172.3 172.1 172.8 1.8 .3 .4 1.7 .1 -.1 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 110.3 110.7 110.9 111.0 .8 .3 .1 1.0 .5 .2 

Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than

50,000) .............................................. M 166.1 166.7 167.3 167.6 1.6 .5 .2 1.9 .7 .4 

South urban ................................................... M 170.8 171.1 171.1 171.3 1.1 .1 .1 .8 .2 .0 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 ................... M 171.9 172.3 172.2 172.7 1.7 .2 .3 1.1 .2 -.1 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ............... M 110.1 110.2 110.2 110.2 .8 .0 .0 .6 .1 .0 

Size D - Nonmetropolitan (less than

50,000) .............................................. M 171.1 171.8 172.1 172.8 1.2 .6 .4 .8 .6 .2 

West urban .................................................... M 180.0 179.7 179.8 180.3 1.9 .3 .3 1.5 -.1 .1 

Size A - More than 1,500,000 .................. M 181.0 180.7 180.8 181.3 2.2 .3 .3 1.7 -.1 .1 

Size B/C - 50,000 to 1,500,000 3 ................ M 112.3 112.0 112.2 112.5 1.5 .4 .3 1.1 -.1 .2 

Size classes

A 4 .............................................................. M 162.5 162.6 162.7 163.4 2.1 .5 .4 1.6 .1 .1 

B/C 3 ........................................................... M 110.7 110.7 110.9 111.0 1.1 .3 .1 .9 .2 .2 

D ................................................................ M 171.1 171.7 172.0 172.5 1.5 .5 .3 1.3 .5 .2 

Selected local areas5

Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI .................. M 175.3 175.9 175.1 175.5 2.0 -.2 .2 2.0 -.1 -.5 

Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA .. M 175.4 174.7 175.0 175.6 2.6 .5 .3 2.2 -.2 .2 

New York-Northern N.J.-Long Island,

NY-NJ-CT-PA ........................................ M 186.4 186.5 187.1 188.1 2.5 .9 .5 2.0 .4 .3 

Boston-Brockton-Nashua, MA-NH-ME-CT .... 1 193.3 -

 194.1 - - - - 1.5 .4 -

Cleveland-Akron, OH ..................................... 1 164.0 - 164.5 - - - - -.2 .3 -

Dallas-Fort Worth, TX .................................... 1 172.5 -

 172.6 - - - - .6 .1 -

Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV 6 ...... 1 112.4 - 113.1 - - - - 2.3 .6 -

Atlanta, GA .................................................... 2 -

 176.5 - 176.8 1.5 .2 - - - -

Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI ............................. 2 -

 173.2 - 175.0 3.3 1.0 - - - -

Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX ................... 2 - 156.7 - 158.0 .6 .8 - - - -

Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL ............................ 2 -

 172.0 - 172.8 1.1 .5 - - - -

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City,

PA-NJ-DE-MD ....................................... 2 -

 184.7 - 186.7 2.5 1.1 - - - -

San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA .......... 2 -

 189.1 - 189.3 1.4 .1 - - - -

Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA ................... 2 - 184.1 - 184.8 1.8 .4 - - - -

1 Foods, fuels, and several other items priced every month in all areas; 

 most other goods and services priced as indicated: 

 M - Every month. 

 1 - January, March, May, July, September, and November. 

 2 - February, April, June, August, October, and December. 2 Regions defined as the four Census regions. See technical notes. 3 Indexes on a December 1996=100 base. 4 Indexes on a December 1986=100 base. 5 In addition, the following metropolitan areas are published semiannually

and appear in Tables 34 and 39 of the January and July issues of the CPI

Detailed Report: Anchorage, AK; Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH-KY-IN;

Denver-Boulder-Greeley, CO; Honolulu, HI; Kansas City, MO-KS;

Milwaukee-Racine, WI; Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI; Phoenix-Mesa, AZ;

Pittsburgh, PA; Portland-Salem, OR-WA; St. Louis, MO-IL; San Diego, CA;

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL. 6 Indexes on a November 1996=100 base. - Data not available.

NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

 

NOTE: Local area indexes are byproducts of the national CPI program. 

Each local index has a smaller sample size than the national index and is,

therefore, subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement

error. As a result, local area indexes show greater volatility than the national

index, although their long-term trends are similar. Therefore, the Bureau of

Labor Statistics strongly urges users to consider adopting the national

average CPI for use in their escalator clauses. 
Table 7. Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U): U.S. city average, by expenditure

category and commodity and service group

(December 1999=100, unless otherwise noted)

C-CPI-U Relative

importance,

1999-2000

 Unadjusted

 indexes

 Unadjusted

 percent change to

 Aug. 2002 from—

 July

 2002

 Aug.

 2002

 Aug.

 2001

 July

 2002

Expenditure category

All items ..................................................................................... 100.000 105.5 105.8 1.3 0.3 

Food and beverages ............................................................... 15.451 106.1 106.0 1.3 -.1 

Food ...................................................................................... 14.432 106.0 106.0 1.3 .0 

Food at home ...................................................................... 8.335 105.2 105.0 .5 -.2 

Food away from home ......................................................... 6.096 107.1 107.3 2.4 .2 

Alcoholic beverages .............................................................. 1.019 106.3 106.5 2.2 .2 

Housing ................................................................................... 40.040 109.2 109.5 2.0 .3 

Shelter ................................................................................... 30.643 110.5 111.0 3.4 .5 

Fuels and utilities ................................................................... 4.376 113.5 113.5 -3.8 .0 

Household furnishings and operations .................................. 5.020 98.7 98.2 -1.3 -.5 

Apparel .................................................................................... 4.819 90.4 91.7 -2.2 1.4 

Transportation ......................................................................... 17.770 102.8 102.9 .3 .1 

Private transportation ............................................................ 16.520 102.7 102.9 .5 .2 

Public transportation .............................................................. 1.250 103.9 103.8 -1.9 -.1 

Medical care ............................................................................ 5.563 112.3 112.6 4.5 .3 

Medical care commodities ..................................................... 1.330 109.5 109.6 3.4 .1 

Medical care services ............................................................ 4.233 113.2 113.5 4.9 .3 

Recreation ............................................................................... 6.124 102.2 102.2 .2 .0 

Education and communication ................................................ 6.068 96.4 97.4 .2 1.0 

Education .............................................................................. 2.546 114.0 116.1 6.3 1.8 

Communication ..................................................................... 3.522 85.2 85.6 -3.8 .5 

Other goods and services ....................................................... 4.164 110.5 110.9 3.7 .4 

Commodity and service group

Services ..................................................................................... 57.098 110.0 110.4 2.8 .4 

Commodities ............................................................................. 42.902 99.9 100.1 -.6 .2 

Durables .................................................................................. 12.953 92.3 92.0 -3.4 -.3 

Nondurables .............................................................................. 29.949 103.4 103.8 .6 .4 

All items less food and energy ................................................ 78.851 105.0 105.3 1.7 .3 

Energy ....................................................................................... 6.717 111.1 111.4 -3.0 .3 

NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

Indexes for 2002 are initial estimates. Indexes for 2001 are interim adjustments.