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

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the South inched down 0.1 percent in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, attributed the monthly decline to decreases in the indexes for food (-0.2 percent), energy (-0.3 percent), and all items less food and energy (-0.1 percent). Within this last group, apparel and medical care were among those indexes that recorded declines. (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 1.0 percent. The energy index was up 3.4 percent since last July and the index for food increased 1.0 percent. The index for all items less food and energy increased 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, July 2007 - July 2010

Food

Food prices edged down 0.2 percent in July following a 0.1-percent decline in the previous month. Within the food index, prices for food away from home fell 0.3 percent and those for food at home, 0.1 percent during the month.

Over the year, the index for food increased 1.0 percent as prices for food away from home and food at home advanced 1.2 and 0.7 percent, respectively.

Energy

The energy index, which includes motor fuel and household fuels, fell 0.3 percent in July, after falling 1.3 percent in June. Within energy, prices for motor fuel declined 0.8 percent while electricity prices were unchanged over the month. Moderating the decrease in the overall energy index were higher prices for utility (piped) gas service, up 3.4 percent in July.

Over the year, the energy index rose 3.4 percent as higher prices for motor fuel (7.0 percent) and utility (piped) gas service (5.7 percent) more than offset lower electricity prices (-1.7 percent).

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy inched down 0.1 percent in July. Among the components of the index, apparel prices recorded a seasonal decline of 2.4 percent and medical care prices fell 0.7 percent over the month. In contrast, prices for used cars and trucks advanced 1.2 percent and prices for other goods and services were 0.8 percent higher since June. 

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 0.8 percent. Higher costs for medical care (3.2 percent) and used cars and trucks (16.5 percent) contributed to the increase.

The Consumer Price Index for August 2010 is scheduled to be released on Friday, September 17, 2010 at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).

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 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/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.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number:  1-800-877-8339.

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.