Prices in the San Diego Area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.6 percent for the two months ending in January 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the January increase was influenced by higher prices for household furnishings and operations and food. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, six-month-to-six-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 2.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices advanced 0.8 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of natural gas service. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.6 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 2.3 percent for the two months ending in January. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home increased 3.2 percent, and prices for food away from home rose 1.4 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 3.6 percent. Prices for food away from home advanced 4.1 percent since a year ago, and prices for food at home rose 3.1 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 6.9 percent for the two months ending in January. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-11.0 percent). Prices for electricity decreased 1.9 percent, but prices for natural gas service jumped 13.7 percent for the same period.

Energy prices advanced 0.8 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for natural gas service (19.7 percent). Prices paid for gasoline advanced 1.2 percent, but prices for electricity declined 3.4 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.0 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for household furnishings and operations (6.2 percent), recreation (2.2 percent), and shelter (0.6 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-3.9 percent) and education and communication (-0.9 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.6 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (4.2 percent) and recreation (2.8 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price declines in apparel (-5.3 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-0.7 percent).

The March 2019 Consumer Price Index for the San Diego-Carlsbad area is scheduled to be released on April 10, 2019.

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 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 San Diego-Carlsbad, CA metropolitan area covered in this release consists of San Diego County in the State of California.

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

San Diego-Carlsbad (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Nov. 2018	Dec. 2018	Jan. 2019	Jan. 2018	Nov. 2018	Dec. 2018
Expenditure category
All items	293.858	-	295.761	2.6	0.6	-
All items (1967=100)	993.623	-	1,000.058	-	-	-
Food and beverages	257.005	-	262.237	3.2	2.0	-
Food	254.443	-	260.381	3.6	2.3	-
Food at home	225.249	229.843	232.397	3.1	3.2	1.1
Cereals and bakery products	257.840	-	269.215	7.3	4.4	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	235.879	-	232.509	-0.8	-1.4	-
Dairy and related products	179.372	-	188.070	6.8	4.8	-
Fruits and vegetables	253.383	-	270.303	3.4	6.7	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	247.684	-	263.099	7.5	6.2	-
Other food at home	211.815	-	216.578	1.2	2.2	-
Food away from home	293.072	-	297.098	4.1	1.4	-
Food away from home	293.072	-	297.098	4.1	1.4	-
Alcoholic beverages	274.241	-	271.675	-0.2	-0.9	-
Housing	346.231	-	350.376	3.4	1.2	-
Shelter	395.941	395.739	398.303	4.2	0.6	0.6
Rent of primary residence(2)	393.609	391.013	392.456	4.5	-0.3	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)	417.955	418.538	421.086	4.5	0.7	0.6
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)	417.955	418.538	421.086	4.5	0.7	0.6
Fuels and utilities	323.112	-	324.846	1.2	0.5	-
Household energy	284.234	289.084	285.783	0.2	0.5	-1.1
Energy services	279.931	285.032	281.786	0.2	0.7	-1.1
Electricity	280.164	280.164	274.756	-3.4	-1.9	-1.9
Utility (piped) gas service	192.062	213.128	218.325	19.7	13.7	2.4
Household furnishings and operations	180.542	-	191.780	-0.7	6.2	-
Apparel	162.786	-	156.372	-5.3	-3.9	-
Transportation	228.504	-	225.073	2.1	-1.5	-
Private transportation	224.385	-	217.654	1.8	-3.0	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	105.703	-	108.316	1.8	2.5	-
New vehicles(1)	225.168	-	230.286	-0.7	2.3	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	231.290	-	232.300	1.3	0.4	-
Motor fuel	295.191	275.893	262.951	1.2	-10.9	-4.7
Gasoline (all types)	295.142	275.690	262.624	1.2	-11.0	-4.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	306.502	285.984	272.390	1.2	-11.1	-4.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	255.582	239.955	227.371	1.5	-11.0	-5.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	297.635	279.504	266.769	1.0	-10.4	-4.6
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	532.314	-	528.376	4.1	-0.7	-
Medical care	478.475	-	482.773	-	0.9	-
Recreation(3)	152.588	-	156.019	2.8	2.2	-
Education and communication(3)	134.320	-	133.152	0.1	-0.9	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,588.965	-	1,595.501	1.7	0.4	-
Other goods and services	408.521	-	411.797	2.6	0.8	-
Commodity and service group
All items	293.858	-	295.761	2.6	0.6	-
Commodities	201.779	-	201.667	0.5	-0.1	-
Commodities less food & beverages	172.402	-	170.035	-1.2	-1.4	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	207.754	-	198.444	-1.0	-4.5	-
Durables	135.578	-	140.421	-1.4	3.6	-
Services	375.220	-	378.971	3.6	1.0	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	285.149	-	286.940	2.6	0.6	-
All items less shelter	253.562	-	255.283	1.6	0.7	-
Commodities less food	176.957	-	174.569	-1.1	-1.3	-
Nondurables	233.683	-	230.924	1.2	-1.2	-
Nondurables less food	214.055	-	205.111	-0.9	-4.2	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	369.413	-	375.015	2.9	1.5	-
Services less medical care services	363.534	-	367.243	3.7	1.0	-
Energy	287.885	277.349	267.966	0.8	-6.9	-3.4
All items less energy	296.854	-	300.381	2.7	1.2	-
All items less food and energy	306.030	-	309.163	2.6	1.0	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a November 1977=100 base. (2) Indexes on a November 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 NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.