An official website of the United States government
21-882-ATL
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the South rose 0.7 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.8 percent over the month. The energy index increased 0.7 percent in April, while the food index inched up 0.2 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 advanced 4.4 percent for the 12 months ending April. This is the largest 12-month increase since a 5.4-percent increase for the period ending September 2008. The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.3 percent over the past year, while the energy index jumped 24.9 percent. The food index rose 2.1 percent over the past year. (See chart 1 and table 1.)
The food index inched up 0.2 percent in April. The food away from home and the food at home indexes each increased over the month, up 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.
The food index rose 2.1 percent for the 12 months ending in April, reflecting increases in the food away from home (2.8 percent) and food at home (1.6 percent) indexes.
EnergyThe energy index rose 0.7 percent in April, led by a 0.9-percent increase in the gasoline index. The electricity index edged up 0.3 percent in April, while the utility (piped) gas service index rose 0.8 percent over the month.
The energy index jumped 24.9 percent for the 12 months ending in April, reflecting 54.3-percent sharp increase in the gasoline index. The electricity and utility (piped) gas service indexes also increased over the year, up 2.0 percent and 11.3 percent, respectively.
All items less food and energyThe index for all items less food and energy rose 0.8 percent in April. Several indexes increased over the month, most notably, new and used motor vehicles (4.1 percent)—reflecting a 9.7-percent increase in the used cars and trucks index. The shelter index edged up 0.3 percent in April, while the medical care index declined 0.4 percent over the month.
The index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.3 percent for the 12 months ending in April, reflecting increases across many components. The new and used motor vehicles index jumped 10.0 percent over the past year, led by a 20.4 percent sharp increase in the used cars and trucks index. Shelter (2.5 percent) and medical care (1.8 percent) were among the indexes to increase over the past 12 months.
Geographic divisionsAdditional price indexes are now available for the three divisions of the South. The all items CPI-U advanced 0.8 percent in the East South Central division in April. The all items index also increased in the South Atlantic and West South Central divisions over the month, up 0.7 percent each.
Over the year, the all items index advanced 5.7 percent in the East South Central division. The all items index rose 4.3 percent in the West South Central division and 4.2 percent in the South Atlantic division.
Month | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1-month | 12-month | 1-month | 12-month | 1-month | 12-month | 1-month | 12-month | 1-month | 12-month | |
January | 0.5 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 1.6 |
February | 0.2 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 2.0 |
March | 0.0 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 1.6 | -0.1 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 2.9 |
April | 0.2 | 2.0 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 1.8 | -0.8 | -0.2 | 0.7 | 4.4 |
May | 0.0 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 2.7 | -0.1 | 1.4 | -0.2 | -0.4 | ||
June | 0.2 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 2.7 | -0.1 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.3 | ||
July | -0.2 | 1.6 | 0.0 | 2.9 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.6 | ||
August | 0.4 | 1.9 | -0.1 | 2.4 | -0.1 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 1.1 | ||
September | 0.7 | 2.4 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 1.3 | ||
October | -0.2 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 1.3 | ||
November | -0.1 | 2.1 | -0.3 | 1.9 | 0.0 | 1.6 | -0.1 | 1.2 | ||
December | -0.1 | 1.8 | -0.5 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 1.4 |
The Consumer Price Index for May 2021 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, June 10, 2021 at 8:30 a.m. (ET).
Data collection by personal visit for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) program has been suspended since March 16, 2020. When possible, data normally collected by personal visit were collected either online or by phone. Additionally, data collection in April was affected by the temporary closing or limited operations of certain types of establishments. These factors resulted in an increase in the number of prices considered temporarily unavailable and imputed. While the CPI program attempted to collect as much data as possible, many indexes are based on smaller amounts of collected prices than usual, and a small number of indexes that are normally published were not published this month. Additional information is available at www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-consumer-price-index.htm.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measures 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 U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. 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 6,000 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; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000. Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods 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 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.
Item and Group | Indexes | Percent change from- | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Feb. 2021 | Mar. 2021 | Apr. 2021 | Apr. 2020 | Feb. 2021 | Mar. 2021 | |
Expenditure category | ||||||
All Items | 253.386 | 255.319 | 257.207 | 4.4 | 1.5 | 0.7 |
All items (December 1977=100) | 411.027 | 414.162 | 417.225 | - | - | - |
Food and beverages | 267.034 | 267.188 | 267.864 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
Food | 268.872 | 268.796 | 269.430 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
Food at home | 251.276 | 251.902 | 252.429 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.2 |
Cereal and bakery products | 293.685 | 292.410 | 291.735 | 0.6 | -0.7 | -0.2 |
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs | 260.973 | 262.199 | 265.295 | 2.5 | 1.7 | 1.2 |
Dairy and related products | 229.703 | 229.155 | 230.689 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.7 |
Fruits and vegetables | 296.994 | 299.852 | 302.532 | 4.5 | 1.9 | 0.9 |
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials | 176.053 | 177.055 | 173.844 | -1.1 | -1.3 | -1.8 |
Other food at home | 220.335 | 220.207 | 220.016 | 1.0 | -0.1 | -0.1 |
Food away from home | 297.797 | 296.709 | 297.504 | 2.8 | -0.1 | 0.3 |
Alcoholic beverages | 241.320 | 244.542 | 245.797 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 0.5 |
Housing | 252.607 | 253.492 | 254.420 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 0.4 |
Shelter | 293.177 | 294.135 | 295.035 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 0.3 |
Rent of primary residence | 308.989 | 309.371 | 309.792 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1) | 296.515 | 297.083 | 297.504 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1) | 296.514 | 297.083 | 297.506 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
Fuels and utilities | 243.008 | 244.545 | 245.347 | 3.5 | 1.0 | 0.3 |
Household energy | 192.635 | 194.231 | 195.071 | 3.5 | 1.3 | 0.4 |
Energy services | 192.647 | 194.267 | 195.060 | 3.2 | 1.3 | 0.4 |
Electricity | 189.473 | 190.686 | 191.344 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.3 |
Utility (piped) gas service | 197.847 | 202.030 | 203.654 | 11.3 | 2.9 | 0.8 |
Household furnishings and operations | 127.518 | 127.802 | 128.853 | 2.9 | 1.0 | 0.8 |
Apparel | 126.931 | 127.426 | 127.227 | 0.6 | 0.2 | -0.2 |
Transportation | 209.818 | 217.108 | 223.261 | 15.4 | 6.4 | 2.8 |
Private transportation | 210.802 | 218.620 | 224.089 | 15.8 | 6.3 | 2.5 |
New and used motor vehicles(2) | 105.425 | 106.964 | 111.368 | 10.0 | 5.6 | 4.1 |
New vehicles | 155.593 | 156.265 | 156.554 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 0.2 |
105.937 | 106.392 | 106.589 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 0.2 | |
New cars(3) | 153.991 | 154.715 | 154.691 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
Used cars and trucks | 150.892 | 154.649 | 169.650 | 20.4 | 12.4 | 9.7 |
Motor fuel | 208.138 | 235.367 | 237.619 | 53.6 | 14.2 | 1.0 |
Gasoline (all types) | 207.043 | 234.240 | 236.444 | 54.3 | 14.2 | 0.9 |
Unleaded regular(3) | 201.594 | 228.671 | 230.643 | 56.2 | 14.4 | 0.9 |
233.679 | 259.696 | 264.393 | 44.9 | 13.1 | 1.8 | |
Unleaded premium(3) | 230.617 | 256.154 | 259.787 | 40.2 | 12.6 | 1.4 |
Motor vehicle insurance(5) | 936.937 | 941.732 | 953.621 | 4.6 | 1.8 | 1.3 |
Medical care | 496.035 | 497.142 | 495.347 | 1.8 | -0.1 | -0.4 |
Medical care commodities | 349.056 | 349.702 | 349.242 | -1.4 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
Medical care services | 545.787 | 547.050 | 544.805 | 2.5 | -0.2 | -0.4 |
Professional services | 382.348 | 383.208 | 383.737 | 4.0 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
Recreation(2) | 123.795 | 124.032 | 125.196 | 2.7 | 1.1 | 0.9 |
Education and communication(2) | 136.293 | 135.862 | 136.995 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 0.8 |
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5) | 1,378.109 | 1,362.743 | 1,366.035 | 0.4 | -0.9 | 0.2 |
Other goods and services | 450.650 | 452.223 | 452.159 | 3.2 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
Commodity and service group | ||||||
All Items | 253.386 | 255.319 | 257.207 | 4.4 | 1.5 | 0.7 |
Commodities | 187.809 | 190.590 | 193.144 | 7.1 | 2.8 | 1.3 |
Commodities less food and beverages | 151.469 | 155.072 | 158.189 | 10.4 | 4.4 | 2.0 |
Nondurables less food and beverages | 194.771 | 202.107 | 203.199 | 13.2 | 4.3 | 0.5 |
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel | 236.338 | 247.560 | 249.379 | 17.3 | 5.5 | 0.7 |
Durables | 110.284 | 111.360 | 115.299 | 7.6 | 4.5 | 3.5 |
Services | 319.519 | 320.505 | 321.644 | 2.8 | 0.7 | 0.4 |
Rent of shelter(1) | 301.368 | 302.362 | 303.298 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 0.3 |
Transportation services | 351.827 | 353.713 | 362.159 | 5.2 | 2.9 | 2.4 |
Other services | 359.111 | 359.375 | 360.409 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
Special aggregate indexes | ||||||
All items less medical care | 240.196 | 242.161 | 244.221 | 4.7 | 1.7 | 0.9 |
All items less food | 250.749 | 252.985 | 255.063 | 4.8 | 1.7 | 0.8 |
All items less shelter | 238.967 | 241.280 | 243.553 | 5.4 | 1.9 | 0.9 |
Commodities less food | 154.160 | 157.766 | 160.849 | 10.0 | 4.3 | 2.0 |
Nondurables | 228.969 | 232.867 | 233.759 | 6.9 | 2.1 | 0.4 |
Nondurables less food | 197.156 | 204.232 | 205.332 | 12.4 | 4.1 | 0.5 |
Nondurables less food and apparel | 235.596 | 246.042 | 247.801 | 15.8 | 5.2 | 0.7 |
Services less rent of shelter(1) | 352.404 | 353.413 | 354.842 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 0.4 |
Services less medical care services | 299.334 | 300.292 | 301.684 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 0.5 |
Energy | 195.501 | 208.996 | 210.474 | 24.9 | 7.7 | 0.7 |
All items less energy | 260.649 | 261.438 | 263.378 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 0.7 |
All items less food and energy | 259.650 | 260.589 | 262.756 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 0.8 |
Commodities less food and energy commodities | 147.830 | 148.704 | 151.883 | 4.6 | 2.7 | 2.1 |
Energy commodities | 212.077 | 239.263 | 241.579 | 52.7 | 13.9 | 1.0 |
Services less energy services | 332.945 | 333.867 | 335.043 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 0.4 |
Footnotes | ||||||
- Data not available. |
Last Modified Date: Wednesday, May 12, 2021