Consumer Price Index - US vs. Southern Region
Source: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX: JANUARY 2009
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.4 percent in January, before seasonal adjustment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The January level of 211.143 (1982-84=100) was virtually unchanged from January 2008.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U increased 0.3 percent in January after declining in each of the three previous months. The energy index climbed 1.7 percent in January, its first increase in six months, but it was still 31.4 percent below its July 2008 peak level. Within energy, the gasoline index rose 6.0 percent in January after a 19.3 percent decline in December.
The food index, which rose sharply during the summer and moderated through the fall, increased 0.1 percent in January after being virtually unchanged in December. The food index has risen 5.3 percent over the past year.
The housing index was virtually unchanged in January for the second straight month. However the shelter index, virtually unchanged in December, rose 0.2 percent in January. Over the last 12 months, the housing index has risen 2.2 percent and the index for shelter was up 1.8 percent. Within shelter, the indexes for rent and owners' equivalent rent both rose 0.3 percent in January after rising 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively, in December.
The household energy index fell 0.9 percent in January, its sixth consecutive monthly decline. Within household energy, the electricity index rose 0.2 percent, but the indexes for fuel oil and natural gas both declined. Despite the recent declines, the household energy index was up
4.9 percent over the past 12 months.
The transportation index rose for the first time since July, increasing 1.3 percent in January. The index has declined 12.6 percent over the past 12 months. The index for motor fuel, which had been declining in recent months, rose 5.3 percent in January. However, the motor fuel index is still 48.1 percent below its peak in July.
The medical care index climbed 0.4 percent in January following a 0.2 percent increase in November and a 0.3 percent advance in December. The index for medical care commodities rose 0.4 percent, with the prescription drugs index rising 0.5 percent. The medical care services index rose 0.5 percent in January. Within this group, the index for physicians' services rose 0.2 percent and the hospital and related services index increased 0.8 percent.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in prices over time of goods and services purchased by households. The CPIs are based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, and fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors’ and dentists’ services, drugs, and other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living.
Prices are collected in 87 urban areas across the country from about 50,000 housing units and approximately 23,000 retail establishments-department stores, supermarkets, hospitals, filling stations, and other types of stores and service establishments.
Separate indexes are also published by region of the country. Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices among cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.
The South region is Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
