Consumer Price Index, South Region – December 2010 (PDF)

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the South increased 0.2 percent in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that prices for energy rose, while prices for all items less food and energy inched down over the month. Within the all items less food and energy group, the indexes for apparel and education and communication recorded decreases. Food prices were unchanged since November. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 1.4 percent. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.8 percent over the year. (See chart 1.)

Chart 1. 12-month percent change in CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), South region, December 2007-December 2010

Food

Food prices were unchanged in December following a 0.1-percent increase in November. Within the food index, prices for food at home inched up 0.1 percent, while those for food away from home were unchanged.

Over the year, the index for food advanced 1.3 percent as prices for food at home and food away from home increased 1.5 and 1.0 percent, respectively.

Energy

The energy index increased 3.5 percent in December following a 0.2-percent decrease in November. Within the energy index, prices increased 5.6 percent for motor fuel. During the month, prices also rose for electricity and for utility (piped) gas service, up 0.5 and 0.9 percent, respectively.

Over the year, the energy index rose 6.5 percent as higher prices for motor fuel (14.0 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for electricity (-2.3 percent) and utility (piped) gas service (-5.9 percent).

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy inched down 0.1 percent in December. Among the components of the index, apparel prices recorded a seasonal decline of 3.3 percent, while shelter prices inched up 0.1 percent over the month.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 0.8 percent. Higher prices for medical care (3.4 percent), education and communication (1.3 percent), and other goods and services (1.5 percent) contributed to the increase.

The Consumer Price Index for January 2011 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in prices over time in a fixed market basket of goods and services. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) a CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) which covers approximately 87 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 32 percent of the total population. The CPI-U includes, in addition to wage earners and clerical workers, groups such as professional, managerial, and technical workers, the self-employed, short-term workers, the unemployed, and retirees and others not in the labor force.

The CPI is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, and fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors’ and dentists’ services, drugs, and the other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. Each month, prices are collected in 87 urban areas across the country from about 4,000 housing units and approximately 25,000 retail establishments—department stores, supermarkets, hospitals, filling stations, and other types of stores and service establishments. All taxes directly associated with the purchase and use of the items are included in the index.

The index measures price changes from a designated reference date (1982-84) that equals 100.0. An increase of 16.5 percent, for example, is shown as 116.5. This change can also be expressed in dollars as follows: the price of a base period “market basket” of goods and services in the CPI has risen from $10 in 1982-84 to $11.65. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at and the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/homch17_a.htm.

In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each location are averaged together with weights that represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Local data are then combined to obtain a U.S. city average. Because the sample size of a local area is smaller, the local area index is subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error than the national index. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. As a result, local area indexes show greater volatility than the national index, although their long-term trends are quite similar. NOTE: Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices between cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.

The South region is comprised of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

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For personal assistance or further information on Consumer Price Indexes, as well as other Bureau products, contact the Mid-Atlantic Information Office at (215) 597-3282 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET.