The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the South edged down 0.2 percent in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The energy index declined by 4.8 percent over the month. The all items less food and energy index rose 0.3 percent and the food index edged up 0.2 percent in September. (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 all items CPI-U declined 0.4 percent, the ninth consecutive month of over-the-year declines for this index. The all items less food and energy index advanced 1.9 percent over the year as several categories within this group recorded increases. (See chart 1.)

Food

The food index edged up 0.2 percent in September. Prices for food at home increased 0.3 percent and prices for food away from home inched up 0.1 percent over the month.

Since September 2014, the food index advanced 1.6 percent, reflecting price increases for both food away from home and food at home, up 3.0 and 0.7 percent, respectively.

Energy

The energy index declined 4.8 percent in September, led by a 9.9-percent decrease in motor fuel prices. Over the month electricity prices inched up 0.1 percent, while prices for utility (piped) gas service edged down 0.2 percent.

Over the year, energy prices fell 20.0 percent, reflecting a 33.5-percent drop in motor fuel prices. Prices for electricity and utility (piped) gas service also declined over the year, down 1.9 and 10.1 percent, respectively.

All items less food and energy

The all items less food and energy index edged up 0.3 percent in September, as increases were noted in several categories, including apparel (3.9 percent), shelter (0.1 percent), and education and communication (0.5 percent).

Since September 2014, the all items less food and energy index advanced 1.9 percent as several indexes recorded increases, most notably shelter (3.0 percent). Medical care, fueled by increases in both medical care services (2.5 percent) and medical care commodities (4.0 percent), rose 2.8 percent over the year. Other indexes with over-the-year increases included other goods and services (2.0 percent) and education and communication (0.9 percent).

Table A. South region CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2011		2012		2013		2014		2015
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.5	1.7	0.5	3.2	0.4	1.6	0.3	1.7	-0.7	-0.4
February	0.5	2.2	0.6	3.3	0.9	1.8	0.4	1.2	0.5	-0.3
March	1.2	2.8	0.7	2.8	0.3	1.5	0.6	1.5	0.6	-0.3
April	0.7	3.4	0.4	2.5	-0.2	0.9	0.5	2.3	0.3	-0.6
May	0.5	4.0	-0.4	1.6	0.0	1.3	0.2	2.4	0.4	-0.4
June	-0.2	3.8	-0.2	1.7	0.4	1.9	0.2	2.3	0.5	-0.1
July	0.2	4.1	-0.2	1.4	0.2	2.2	-0.1	2.0	-0.1	-0.1
August	0.4	4.3	0.6	1.6	0.1	1.7	-0.2	1.7	-0.2	-0.2
September	0.0	4.1	0.5	2.1	0.0	1.3	0.1	1.7	-0.2	-0.4
October	-0.2	3.7	-0.2	2.1	-0.2	1.3	-0.3	1.6
November	0.0	3.8	-0.5	1.6	-0.3	1.5	-0.6	1.3
December	-0.2	3.3	-0.1	1.7	0.1	1.8	-0.6	0.6

The Consumer Price Index for October 2015 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, November 17, 2015.

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 https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch17.pdf.

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; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods
South (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Jul. 2015	Aug. 2015	Sep. 2015	Sep. 2014	Jul. 2015	Aug. 2015
Expenditure category
All Items	231.719	231.260	230.913	-0.4	-0.3	-0.2
All items (December 1977=100)	375.880	375.136	374.573	-	-	-
Food and beverages	245.647	246.347	246.906	1.6	0.5	0.2
Food	247.118	247.855	248.458	1.6	0.5	0.2
Food at home	240.573	241.461	242.232	0.7	0.7	0.3
Food away from home	259.735	260.258	260.619	3.0	0.3	0.1
Alcoholic beverages	224.514	224.702	224.656	1.3	0.1	0.0
Housing	222.664	222.880	223.144	2.0	0.2	0.1
Shelter	251.494	251.897	252.260	3.0	0.3	0.1
Rent of primary residence (1)	257.795	258.980	259.653	4.0	0.7	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences (1) (2)	253.735	254.229	254.559	2.9	0.3	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence (1) (2)	253.724	254.219	254.547	2.9	0.3	0.1
Fuels and utilities	236.532	236.424	236.402	-1.5	-0.1	0.0
Household energy	195.880	195.374	195.283	-3.2	-0.3	0.0
Energy services (1)	196.320	195.803	195.854	-2.9	-0.2	0.0
Electricity (1)	197.764	197.147	197.257	-1.9	-0.3	0.1
Utility (piped) gas service (1)	170.692	170.870	170.528	-10.1	-0.1	-0.2
Household furnishings and operations	121.793	121.579	121.708	-0.7	-0.1	0.1
Apparel	130.264	131.214	136.367	-0.8	4.7	3.9
Transportation	204.570	200.086	194.788	-10.0	-4.8	-2.6
Private transportation	202.684	198.354	192.886	-10.3	-4.8	-2.8
New and used motor vehicles (3)	103.762	103.662	103.148	-0.3	-0.6	-0.5
New vehicles	153.000	152.957	152.905	0.1	-0.1	0.0
New cars and trucks (3) (4)	104.153	104.103	104.064	0.1	-0.1	0.0
New cars (4)	153.830	153.609	153.488	-0.5	-0.2	-0.1
Used cars and trucks	150.635	150.471	148.289	-1.1	-1.6	-1.5
Motor fuel	229.495	212.686	191.621	-33.5	-16.5	-9.9
Gasoline (all types)	228.523	211.730	190.591	-33.5	-16.6	-10.0
Unleaded regular (4)	224.939	207.729	186.241	-34.4	-17.2	-10.3
Unleaded midgrade (4) (5)	245.005	229.330	209.123	-30.8	-14.6	-8.8
Unleaded premium (4)	239.763	226.214	208.018	-28.4	-13.2	-8.0
Medical care	424.259	425.673	426.865	2.8	0.6	0.3
Medical care commodities	341.679	345.766	346.016	4.0	1.3	0.1
Medical care services	451.948	452.177	453.755	2.5	0.4	0.3
Professional services	356.626	356.817	357.740	1.6	0.3	0.3
Recreation (3)	116.483	115.982	115.907	0.5	-0.5	-0.1
Education and communication (3)	135.008	136.115	136.792	0.9	1.3	0.5
Other goods and services	406.867	407.078	408.546	2.0	0.4	0.4
Commodity and service group
All Items	231.719	231.260	230.913	-0.4	-0.3	-0.2
Commodities	184.195	182.861	181.614	-4.5	-1.4	-0.7
Commodities less food and beverages	154.644	152.534	150.599	-8.1	-2.6	-1.3
Nondurables less food and beverages	199.505	195.322	191.401	-12.4	-4.1	-2.0
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel	242.254	235.088	225.956	-15.7	-6.7	-3.9
Durables	112.021	111.708	111.492	-1.3	-0.5	-0.2
Services	279.793	280.175	280.693	2.4	0.3	0.2
Rent of shelter (2)	258.078	258.498	258.876	3.0	0.3	0.1
Transportation services	312.300	310.768	311.561	3.2	-0.2	0.3
Other services	331.674	333.022	333.882	2.2	0.7	0.3
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	221.020	220.486	220.076	-0.6	-0.4	-0.2
All items less food	229.116	228.476	227.984	-0.7	-0.5	-0.2
All items less shelter	225.189	224.371	223.727	-1.9	-0.6	-0.3
Commodities less food	156.850	154.795	152.906	-7.8	-2.5	-1.2
Nondurables	221.617	219.690	217.839	-5.5	-1.7	-0.8
Nondurables less food	200.692	196.754	193.051	-11.6	-3.8	-1.9
Nondurables less food and apparel	239.551	233.041	224.721	-14.5	-6.2	-3.6
Services less rent of shelter (2)	315.864	316.209	316.921	1.8	0.3	0.2
Services less medical care services	264.043	264.427	264.871	2.4	0.3	0.2
Energy	207.200	199.299	189.683	-20.0	-8.5	-4.8
All items less energy	235.197	235.572	236.264	1.9	0.5	0.3
All items less food and energy	233.509	233.821	234.530	1.9	0.4	0.3
Commodities less food and energy commodities	147.839	147.897	148.788	-0.6	0.6	0.6
Energy commodities	233.040	216.277	195.106	-33.3	-16.3	-9.8
Services less energy services	288.460	288.943	289.513	2.8	0.4	0.2
Footnotes (1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (2) Index is on a December 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. Regions defined as the four Census regions. South includes Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.