The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the South was unchanged in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The all items less food and energy index inched up 0.1 percent over the month. The energy index decreased 0.8 percent, while the food index was up 0.1 percent in September. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The all items CPI-U was up 1.7 percent for the 12 months ending September 2018. The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.8 percent over the past year, while the food index advanced 1.0 percent and the energy index rose 0.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index inched up 0.1 percent in September. The food away from home edged up 0.2 percent. The food at home index was unchanged over the month.    

The food index rose 1.0 percent since September 2017, primarily due to a 2.0-percent increase in the food away from home index. The food at home index edged up 0.2 percent over the year.

Energy

The energy index decreased 0.8 percent in September, led by decreases in the electricity index (-1.2 percent) and the utility (piped) gas service index (-5.2 percent). The motor fuel index was unchanged over the month.

From September 2017—September 2018, the energy index rose 0.9 percent, reflecting a 3.7-percent increase in the motor fuel index. Over the year, the electricity and the utility (piped) gas service indexes declined, down 2.6 and 8.4 percent, respectively.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy inched up 0.1 percent over the September pricing period, as increases were recorded for several indexes, most notably apparel (3.7 percent) and shelter (0.2 percent). In contrast, the new and used motor vehicles index declined 1.7 percent.

Since September 2017, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.8 percent, led by an increase in the shelter index (2.7 percent).

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

Month	2014		2015		2016		2017		2018
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.3	1.7	-0.7	-0.4	0.0	1.2	0.5	2.6	0.5	1.8
February	0.4	1.2	0.5	-0.3	0.1	0.7	0.2	2.8	0.6	2.1
March	0.6	1.5	0.6	-0.3	0.6	0.7	0.0	2.2	0.2	2.3
April	0.5	2.3	0.3	-0.6	0.4	0.9	0.2	2.0	0.4	2.4
May	0.2	2.4	0.4	-0.4	0.4	0.9	0.0	1.7	0.3	2.7
June	0.2	2.3	0.5	-0.1	0.4	0.8	0.2	1.5	0.2	2.7
July	-0.1	2.0	-0.1	-0.1	-0.2	0.7	-0.2	1.6	0.0	2.9
August	-0.2	1.7	-0.2	-0.2	0.1	1.0	0.4	1.9	-0.1	2.4
September	0.1	1.7	-0.2	-0.4	0.2	1.4	0.7	2.4	0.0	1.7
October	-0.3	1.6	0.0	-0.1	0.1	1.5	-0.2	2.0
November	-0.6	1.3	-0.2	0.3	-0.1	1.6	-0.1	2.1
December	-0.6	0.6	-0.4	0.5	0.1	2.0	-0.1	1.8

The Consumer Price Index for October 2018 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 14, 2018.

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 93 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 29 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 75 urban areas across the country from about 5,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 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/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.

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