Prices in the San Diego Area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.5 percent for the two months ending in March 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the March increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter, gasoline, and electricity. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 2.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices declined 0.3 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.2 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.3 percent for the two months ending in March. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home advanced 0.4 percent, and prices for food at home increased 0.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 3.4 percent. Prices for food away from home advanced 3.8 percent since a year ago, and prices for food at home increased 3.0 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 2.9 percent for the two months ending in March. The increase was strongly influenced by higher prices for electricity (4.7 percent) and gasoline (2.3 percent). Prices for natural gas service edged down 0.2 percent for the same period.

Energy prices declined 0.3 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-2.9 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service jumped 20.1 percent, and prices for electricity increased 1.1 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.3 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for shelter (1.1 percent) and medical care (0.8 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-2.3 percent) and education and communication (-0.3 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.2 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (4.6 percent) and other goods and services (3.2 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price declines in household furnishings and operations (-4.8 percent) and recreation (-2.2 percent).

The May 2019 Consumer Price Index for the San Diego-Carlsbad area is scheduled to be released on June 12, 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-
	Jan. 2019	Feb. 2019	Mar. 2019	Mar. 2018	Jan. 2019	Feb. 2019
Expenditure category
All items	295.761	-	297.226	2.2	0.5	-
All items (1967=100)	1,000.058	-	1,005.012	-	-	-
Food and beverages	262.237	-	263.073	2.9	0.3	-
Food	260.381	-	261.194	3.4	0.3	-
Food at home	232.397	229.176	233.015	3.0	0.3	1.7
Cereals and bakery products	269.215	-	266.556	7.0	-1.0	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	232.509	-	241.166	0.2	3.7	-
Dairy and related products	188.070	-	185.130	3.0	-1.6	-
Fruits and vegetables	270.303	-	258.440	-0.1	-4.4	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	263.099	-	260.347	8.2	-1.0	-
Other food at home	216.578	-	221.786	3.6	2.4	-
Food away from home	297.098	-	298.186	3.8	0.4	-
Food away from home	297.098	-	298.186	3.8	0.4	-
Alcoholic beverages	271.675	-	272.723	-1.5	0.4	-
Housing	350.376	-	353.318	3.4	0.8	-
Shelter	398.303	400.673	402.787	4.6	1.1	0.5
Rent of primary residence(2)	392.456	394.447	395.541	4.8	0.8	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)	421.086	422.766	423.210	4.7	0.5	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)	421.086	422.766	423.210	4.7	0.5	0.1
Fuels and utilities	324.846	-	332.684	3.7	2.4	-
Household energy	285.783	283.562	296.467	4.1	3.7	4.6
Energy services	281.786	279.388	292.408	4.1	3.8	4.7
Electricity	274.756	274.756	287.659	1.1	4.7	4.7
Utility (piped) gas service	218.325	208.426	217.796	20.1	-0.2	4.5
Household furnishings and operations	191.780	-	187.374	-4.8	-2.3	-
Apparel	156.372	-	157.439	2.8	0.7	-
Transportation	225.073	-	225.313	-0.2	0.1	-
Private transportation	217.654	-	219.671	0.8	0.9	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	108.316	-	108.506	2.9	0.2	-
New vehicles(1)	230.286	-	228.529	0.5	-0.8	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	232.300	-	234.513	0.0	1.0	-
Motor fuel	262.951	265.067	269.044	-2.8	2.3	1.5
Gasoline (all types)	262.624	264.765	268.777	-2.9	2.3	1.5
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	272.390	274.578	278.612	-3.1	2.3	1.5
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	227.371	227.376	231.285	-2.8	1.7	1.7
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	266.769	269.559	274.248	-1.9	2.8	1.7
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	528.376	-	534.137	0.7	1.1	-
Medical care	482.773	-	486.831	-	0.8	-
Recreation(3)	156.019	-	155.838	-2.2	-0.1	-
Education and communication(3)	133.152	-	132.706	-0.1	-0.3	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,595.501	-	1,595.501	1.7	0.0	-
Other goods and services	411.797	-	410.683	3.2	-0.3	-
Commodity and service group
All items	295.761	-	297.226	2.2	0.5	-
Commodities	201.667	-	201.914	0.3	0.1	-
Commodities less food & beverages	170.035	-	170.025	-1.4	0.0	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	198.444	-	200.413	0.4	1.0	-
Durables	140.421	-	138.355	-3.9	-1.5	-
Services	378.971	-	381.549	3.2	0.7	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	286.940	-	288.285	2.1	0.5	-
All items less shelter	255.283	-	255.567	0.8	0.1	-
Commodities less food	174.569	-	174.596	-1.4	0.0	-
Nondurables	230.924	-	232.402	1.7	0.6	-
Nondurables less food	205.111	-	207.037	0.2	0.9	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	375.015	-	375.461	1.5	0.1	-
Services less medical care services	367.243	-	369.730	3.2	0.7	-
Energy	267.966	268.524	275.611	-0.3	2.9	2.6
All items less energy	300.381	-	301.404	2.4	0.3	-
All items less food and energy	309.163	-	310.228	2.2	0.3	-
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.