TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The price of goods and services in the Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater areas rose 8% over the past 12 months, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — That means the cost of everyday things like groceries and gasoline saw noticeable price increases since November of 2020.
If you walked out of the grocery store recently and wondered why the prices seem higher than usual, that’s because they generally are. According to data released Friday, the food at home index, which tracks products like cereal, milk, fish and more, rose 4.8% over the past year, while the food away from home index rose 3.6%.
The cost of driving to the supermarket also saw a noticeable increase since November 2020. Data shows a 67.5% spike in the gasoline index since the year prior. Regular grade gasoline saw the biggest increase of 69.9% while premium gas saw the least increase at 52.6% — but no matter how you slice it Floridians are paying more at the pump.
If you thought electric vehicle drivers who charge at home got away easy, think again. The electricity service index also advanced over the past 12 months, up 9%. That’s not nearly as high as the gasoline index but noteworthy non the less.
On the topic of vehicles, the used cars and trucks index rose 30.6% over the past year while the new vehicles index advanced 12.9%. Some experts pointed towards global microchip shortage which plagued the auto industry during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The data collected for the Tampa Bay area was sourced from the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). The CPI is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors’ and dentists’ services, drugs and the other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said.
