The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the South was unchanged in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The index for all items less food and energy was little changed in December, down 0.1 percent. The food index edged up 0.2 percent in December and the energy index rose 0.3 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The all items CPI-U for the South increased 2.1 percent since December 2018. The all items less food and energy index rose 2.0 percent over the past year, and the energy index advanced 4.1 percent. The food index rose 1.5 percent over the last 12 months. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index edged up 0.2 percent in December, reflecting over-the-month increases in the food at home (0.3 percent) and the food away from home (0.2 percent) indexes.

The food index rose 1.5 percent for the 12 months ending December 2019, led by a 2.9-percent increase in the food away from home index. The food at home index edged up 0.3 percent over the last 12 months.  

Energy

The energy index edged up 0.3 percent in December, reflecting increases in the gasoline (0.2 percent), utility (piped) gas service (0.9 percent), and electricity (0.1 percent) indexes.

The energy index increased 4.1 percent over the past 12 months, led a 9.3-percent advance in the gasoline index. Since December 2018, the electricity and the utility (piped) gas service indexes declined, down 0.8 percent and 1.0 percent, respectively.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy was little changed over the month, down 0.1 percent from November to December. Several indexes declined in December, including apparel (-3.2 percent), household furnishings and operations (-0.4 percent), and recreation (-0.3 percent). In contrast, the indexes for shelter (0.2 percent), medical care services (0.3 percent), and new vehicles (0.3 percent) were among those that increased in December.

Since December 2018, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.0 percent, reflecting increases in the shelter (3.1 percent) and medical care services (4.6 percent) indexes.

Geographic divisions

Additional price indexes are now available for the three divisions of the South. Over the month, the all items CPI-U declined in the West South Central and the East South Central divisions, down 0.2 and 0.1 percent, respectively. The all items index in the South Atlantic division was little changed in December, up 0.1 percent.   

Over the year, the all items index advanced 2.5 percent in the South Atlantic division. The all items index rose 1.8 percent in the West South Central division and 1.5 percent in the East South Central division.

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

Month	2015		2016		2017		2018		2019
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	-0.7	-0.4	0.0	1.2	0.5	2.6	0.5	1.8	0.2	1.2
February	0.5	-0.3	0.1	0.7	0.2	2.8	0.6	2.1	0.5	1.1
March	0.6	-0.3	0.6	0.7	0.0	2.2	0.2	2.3	0.7	1.6
April	0.3	-0.6	0.4	0.9	0.2	2.0	0.4	2.4	0.5	1.8
May	0.4	-0.4	0.4	0.9	0.0	1.7	0.3	2.7	-0.1	1.4
June	0.5	-0.1	0.4	0.8	0.2	1.5	0.2	2.7	-0.1	1.1
July	-0.1	-0.1	-0.2	0.7	-0.2	1.6	0.0	2.9	0.3	1.4
August	-0.2	-0.2	0.1	1.0	0.4	1.9	-0.1	2.4	-0.1	1.4
September	-0.2	-0.4	0.2	1.4	0.7	2.4	0.0	1.7	0.0	1.3
October	0.0	-0.1	0.1	1.5	-0.2	2.0	0.2	2.1	0.2	1.3
November	-0.2	0.3	-0.1	1.6	-0.1	2.1	-0.3	1.9	0.0	1.6
December	-0.4	0.5	0.1	2.0	-0.1	1.8	-0.5	1.5	0.0	2.1

The Consumer Price Index for January 2020 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, 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 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.

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-
	Oct. 2019	Nov. 2019	Dec. 2019	Dec. 2018	Oct. 2019	Nov. 2019
Expenditure category
All Items	247.423	247.385	247.289	2.1	-0.1	0.0
All items (December 1977=100)	401.354	401.294	401.138	-	-	-
Food and beverages	256.171	255.776	256.354	1.5	0.1	0.2
Food	257.388	256.969	257.576	1.5	0.1	0.2
Food at home	240.171	238.834	239.527	0.3	-0.3	0.3
Cereal and bakery products	282.606	279.565	280.214	-0.5	-0.8	0.2
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	245.609	244.012	248.173	2.6	1.0	1.7
Dairy and related products	223.121	223.523	222.108	0.2	-0.5	-0.6
Fruits and vegetables	284.349	280.345	281.310	-2.1	-1.1	0.3
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	168.471	168.211	167.472	0.5	-0.6	-0.4
Other food at home	211.199	210.944	210.370	0.2	-0.4	-0.3
Food away from home	285.649	286.511	287.006	2.9	0.5	0.2
Alcoholic beverages	238.832	238.777	238.943	1.8	0.0	0.1
Housing	246.044	246.137	246.438	2.5	0.2	0.1
Shelter	284.575	285.140	285.654	3.1	0.4	0.2
Rent of primary residence	298.053	299.082	299.871	3.4	0.6	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)	286.876	287.559	288.027	3.1	0.4	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)	286.885	287.570	288.040	3.1	0.4	0.2
Fuels and utilities	239.578	237.440	237.938	-0.6	-0.7	0.2
Household energy	191.880	189.621	190.134	-0.8	-0.9	0.3
Energy services	192.120	189.789	190.225	-0.8	-1.0	0.2
Electricity	190.541	187.802	188.048	-0.8	-1.3	0.1
Utility (piped) gas service	186.591	187.283	188.995	-1.0	1.3	0.9
Household furnishings and operations	125.581	125.513	125.034	1.9	-0.4	-0.4
Apparel	132.967	133.525	129.315	-0.3	-2.7	-3.2
Transportation	208.663	207.692	207.452	2.0	-0.6	-0.1
Private transportation	207.334	206.267	206.548	2.1	-0.4	0.1
New and used motor vehicles(2)	101.221	100.756	100.868	-0.8	-0.3	0.1
New vehicles	152.337	151.651	152.124	-0.5	-0.1	0.3
New cars and trucks(2)(3)	103.700	103.234	103.564	-0.5	-0.1	0.3
New cars(3)	152.286	151.365	151.604	-0.7	-0.4	0.2
Used cars and trucks	139.689	138.809	138.559	-0.8	-0.8	-0.2
Motor fuel	212.504	210.160	210.672	9.0	-0.9	0.2
Gasoline (all types)	211.143	208.794	209.311	9.3	-0.9	0.2
Unleaded regular(3)	205.551	203.138	203.729	9.6	-0.9	0.3
Unleaded midgrade(3)(4)	236.142	234.340	234.729	8.1	-0.6	0.2
Unleaded premium(3)	235.698	234.143	233.899	7.4	-0.8	-0.1
Motor vehicle insurance(5)	960.817	958.554	961.078	0.4	0.0	0.3
Medical care	476.689	478.888	479.724	3.5	0.6	0.2
Medical care commodities	352.780	353.018	352.266	-0.8	-0.1	-0.2
Medical care services	518.629	521.509	522.899	4.6	0.8	0.3
Professional services	366.878	366.907	366.873	0.8	0.0	0.0
Recreation(2)	121.488	121.814	121.445	1.7	0.0	-0.3
Education and communication(2)	133.408	133.564	133.445	0.9	0.0	-0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)	1,356.623	1,356.704	1,355.934	2.2	-0.1	-0.1
Other goods and services	434.357	434.117	433.843	1.5	-0.1	-0.1
Commodity and service group
All Items	247.423	247.385	247.289	2.1	-0.1	0.0
Commodities	184.051	183.514	183.096	1.3	-0.5	-0.2
Commodities less food and beverages	150.395	149.835	149.092	1.3	-0.9	-0.5
Nondurables less food and beverages	197.173	196.646	194.993	2.9	-1.1	-0.8
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel	236.886	235.782	235.394	3.8	-0.6	-0.2
Durables	107.310	106.780	106.677	-0.6	-0.6	-0.1
Services	311.297	311.792	312.040	2.6	0.2	0.1
Rent of shelter(1)	292.317	292.910	293.445	3.2	0.4	0.2
Transportation services	364.562	364.717	362.239	0.9	-0.6	-0.7
Other services	348.219	349.212	349.533	1.9	0.4	0.1
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	234.923	234.775	234.633	2.0	-0.1	-0.1
All items less food	245.633	245.652	245.451	2.2	-0.1	-0.1
All items less shelter	233.991	233.725	233.397	1.7	-0.3	-0.1
Commodities less food	153.053	152.502	151.776	1.3	-0.8	-0.5
Nondurables	225.089	224.621	223.988	2.1	-0.5	-0.3
Nondurables less food	199.284	198.782	197.223	2.8	-1.0	-0.8
Nondurables less food and apparel	235.888	234.870	234.527	3.7	-0.6	-0.1
Services less rent of shelter(1)	344.936	345.329	345.237	2.0	0.1	0.0
Services less medical care services	292.649	292.956	293.114	2.4	0.2	0.1
Energy	197.145	194.900	195.400	4.1	-0.9	0.3
All items less energy	253.870	254.082	253.918	2.0	0.0	-0.1
All items less food and energy	253.668	253.987	253.692	2.0	0.0	-0.1
Commodities less food and energy commodities	146.116	145.804	144.884	-0.2	-0.8	-0.6
Energy commodities	216.185	213.866	214.464	8.8	-0.8	0.3
Services less energy services	323.905	324.710	324.937	2.8	0.3	0.1
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Indexes on a December 1977=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.