Prices in the San Diego area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), crept up 0.2 percent for the two months ending in November 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the November increase was influenced by higher prices for gasoline and shelter. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 2.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.2 percent over the year. Energy prices rose 6.8 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. Food prices increased 2.8 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 1.1 percent for the two months ending in November. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home advanced 1.4 percent, and prices for food at home rose 0.9 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 2.8 percent. Prices for food at home rose 3.3 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home rose 2.3 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 1.0 percent for the two months ending in November. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (6.3 percent). Prices for electricity decreased 8.3 percent, and prices for natural gas service decreased 6.2 percent for the same period.

Energy prices rose 6.8 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (7.8 percent). Prices paid for electricity increased 6.1 percent, and prices for natural gas service edged up 0.2 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy was unchanged in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for recreation (1.3 percent) helped counter lower prices for apparel (-5.6 percent) and alcoholic beverages (-2.7 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 2.2 percent. Components contributing to the increase included recreation (3.8 percent), medical care (3.7 percent), and shelter (3.2 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in education and communication (-2.5 percent) and apparel (-0.7 percent).

The January 2020 Consumer Price Index for the San Diego area is scheduled to be released on February 13, 2020.

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 89 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 28 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 6,000 housing units and approximately 24,000 retail establishments--department stores, supermarkets, hospitals, filling stations, and other types of stores and service establishments. All taxes directly associated with the purchase and use of items are included in the index.

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 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/cpi/.

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 San Diego-Carlsbad, CA metropolitan area covered in this release consists of San Diego County in the State of California.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods

San Diego-Carlsbad (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Sep. 2019	Oct. 2019	Nov. 2019	Nov. 2018	Sep. 2019	Oct. 2019
Expenditure category
All items	301.033	-	301.520	2.6	0.2	-
All items (1967=100)	1,017.886	-	1,019.532	-	-	-
Food and beverages	261.023	-	263.074	2.4	0.8	-
Food	258.680	-	261.605	2.8	1.1	-
Food at home	230.653	229.764	232.641	3.3	0.9	1.3
Cereals and bakery products	260.394	-	264.756	2.7	1.7	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	237.007	-	240.881	2.1	1.6	-
Dairy and related products	190.050	-	193.319	7.8	1.7	-
Fruits and vegetables	269.633	-	268.477	6.0	-0.4	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	246.405	-	261.284	5.5	6.0	-
Other food at home	215.755	-	212.487	0.3	-1.5	-
Food away from home	295.494	-	299.759	2.3	1.4	-
Food away from home	295.494	-	299.759	2.3	1.4	-
Alcoholic beverages	275.751	-	268.306	-2.2	-2.7	-
Housing	357.699	-	357.465	3.2	-0.1	-
Shelter	406.683	407.623	408.643	3.2	0.5	0.3
Rent of primary residence(2)	402.529	404.812	406.049	3.2	0.9	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)	431.157	433.322	433.641	3.8	0.6	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)	431.157	433.322	433.641	3.8	0.6	0.1
Fuels and utilities	353.831	-	336.057	4.0	-5.0	-
Household energy	323.472	325.153	298.621	5.1	-7.7	-8.2
Energy services	319.788	321.183	294.357	5.2	-8.0	-8.4
Electricity	324.183	324.183	297.342	6.1	-8.3	-8.3
Utility (piped) gas service	205.204	210.966	192.531	0.2	-6.2	-8.7
Household furnishings and operations	186.521	-	185.892	3.0	-0.3	-
Apparel	171.134	-	161.566	-0.7	-5.6	-
Transportation	234.106	-	235.748	3.2	0.7	-
Private transportation	226.943	-	231.889	3.3	2.2	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	106.930	-	106.856	1.1	-0.1	-
New vehicles(1)	229.008	-	226.635	0.7	-1.0	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	231.004	-	228.974	-1.0	-0.9	-
Motor fuel	299.371	323.006	318.091	7.8	6.3	-1.5
Gasoline (all types)	299.202	323.220	318.175	7.8	6.3	-1.6
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	310.336	335.724	330.527	7.8	6.5	-1.5
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	259.794	275.704	271.475	6.2	4.5	-1.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	303.710	326.885	321.591	8.0	5.9	-1.6
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	533.034	-	535.994	0.7	0.6	-
Medical care	494.789	-	496.264	3.7	0.3	-
Recreation(3)	156.400	-	158.427	3.8	1.3	-
Education and communication(3)	130.136	-	130.967	-2.5	0.6	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,538.385	-	1,538.385	-3.2	0.0	-
Other goods and services	405.354	-	410.688	0.5	1.3	-
Commodity and service group
All items	301.033	-	301.520	2.6	0.2	-
Commodities	204.877	-	205.831	2.0	0.5	-
Commodities less food & beverages	175.019	-	175.479	1.8	0.3	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	212.219	-	213.666	2.8	0.7	-
Durables	136.273	-	135.709	0.1	-0.4	-
Services	386.086	-	386.131	2.9	0.0	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	291.897	-	292.338	2.5	0.2	-
All items less shelter	259.334	-	259.245	2.2	0.0	-
Commodities less food	179.550	-	179.736	1.6	0.1	-
Nondurables	238.012	-	239.760	2.6	0.7	-
Nondurables less food	218.363	-	219.230	2.4	0.4	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	380.967	-	378.681	2.5	-0.6	-
Services less medical care services	373.883	-	373.723	2.8	0.0	-
Energy	304.412	320.010	307.509	6.8	1.0	-3.9
All items less energy	303.403	-	303.702	2.3	0.1	-
All items less food and energy	313.020	-	312.866	2.2	0.0	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a November 1977=100 base. (2) Indexes on a November 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
- Data not available NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.