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News Release Information

23-2000-ATL
Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

Consumer Price Index, South Region — August 2023

Prices in the South up 0.6 percent in August and 4.1 percent over the past year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the South rose 0.6 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The energy index increased 3.8 percent over the month, while the index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent. The food index was little changed from July to August, 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 increased 4.1 percent for the 12 months ending in August after increasing 3.4 percent for the 12-month period ending in July. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less and food and energy advanced 4.8 percent over the past 12 months. The food index continued to increase, up 4.6 percent over the past year. In contrast, the energy index declined 2.2 percent over the last 12 months. (See table 1.)


Food

The food index increased 0.2 percent in August. The food away from home index rose 0.3 percent over the month. The food at home index rose 0.2 percent in August, as 4 of the 6 major grocery store food group indexes increased over the month.

The food index advanced 4.6 percent for the 12 months ending in August, led by a 6.7-percent increase in the food away home index. The food at home index also increased over the past year, up 3.4 percent. Five of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased over the last 12 months, including other food at home (+5.1 percent), cereals and bakery products (+6.0 percent), and nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (+5.8 percent).

Energy

The energy index increased 3.8 percent in August, primarily due to a 7.2-percent increase in the gasoline index. The electricity index also rose over the month, up 0.3 percent, while the natural gas index declined 1.5 percent.

The energy index declined 2.2 percent for the 12 months ending in August. The gasoline index declined 0.4 percent over the past year, while the natural gas index fell 14.9 percent. The index for electricity was unchanged over the last 12 months.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent in August. The shelter index rose 0.4 percent over the month, reflecting increases in the owners’ equivalent rent (+0.4 percent) and rent of primary residence (+0.5 percent) indexes. Among the indexes to decline in August include the index for used cars and trucks (-1.4 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 4.8 percent for the 12 months ending in August, after increasing 5.0 percent for the 12-month period ending in July. The increase was largely contributed to shelter (+8.5 percent). The index for owners’ equivalent increased 8.6 percent over the past year and rent of primary residence advanced 9.4 percent. In contrast, the index for used cars and trucks declined 6.8 percent over the past 12 months.

Geographic divisions

Additional price indexes are now available for the three divisions of the South. In August, the all items index rose 0.6 percent each for the South Atlantic and West South Central divisions. The all items index for the East South Central division rose 0.4 percent over the month.

Over the year, the all items index increased 4.5 percent in both the South Atlantic division and the East South Central division. The all items index rose 3.2 percent over the past year in the West South Central division.

Table A. South region CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month

January

0.2 1.2 0.3 2.3 0.5 1.6 0.9 7.8 0.8 6.9

February

0.5 1.1 0.2 1.9 0.5 2.0 1.1 8.4 0.6 6.4

March

0.7 1.6 -0.1 1.1 0.8 2.9 1.4 9.1 0.4 5.3

April

0.5 1.8 -0.8 -0.2 0.7 4.4 0.5 8.8 0.7 5.5

May

-0.1 1.4 -0.2 -0.4 0.8 5.6 1.2 9.2 0.2 4.4

June

-0.1 1.1 0.6 0.3 0.9 5.8 1.5 9.8 0.3 3.3

July

0.3 1.4 0.6 0.6 0.5 5.8 0.1 9.4 0.2 3.4

August

-0.1 1.4 0.4 1.1 0.3 5.6 -0.2 8.9 0.6 4.1

September

0.0 1.3 0.2 1.3 0.3 5.8 0.2 8.7

October

0.2 1.3 0.1 1.3 1.0 6.6 0.4 8.1

November

0.0 1.6 -0.1 1.2 0.4 7.2 0.1 7.7

December

0.0 2.1 0.2 1.4 0.3 7.4 -0.3 7.0

The Consumer Price Index for September 2023 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, October 12, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).


Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index for the South region is published monthly. 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 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, 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 individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

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-
Jun.
2023
Jul.
2023
Aug.
2023
Aug.
2022
Jun.
2023
Jul.
2023

Expenditure category

All Items

296.789 297.279 298.975 4.1 0.7 0.6

All items (December 1977=100)

481.434 482.228 484.979 - - -

Food and beverages

314.879 316.046 316.753 4.5 0.6 0.2

Food

318.627 319.841 320.551 4.6 0.6 0.2

Food at home

299.741 301.066 301.524 3.4 0.6 0.2

Cereal and bakery products

361.630 364.142 363.566 6.0 0.5 -0.2

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

309.959 311.206 312.203 -0.2 0.7 0.3

Dairy and related products

269.988 271.291 269.557 0.3 -0.2 -0.6

Fruits and vegetables

330.672 331.306 332.595 3.4 0.6 0.4

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials

213.753 213.556 214.931 5.8 0.6 0.6

Other food at home

269.530 271.520 271.688 5.1 0.8 0.1

Food away from home

349.976 350.940 352.143 6.7 0.6 0.3

Alcoholic beverages

262.651 263.135 263.807 3.1 0.4 0.3

Housing

299.795 300.449 301.627 6.6 0.6 0.4

Shelter

348.221 349.428 350.941 8.5 0.8 0.4

Rent of primary residence

371.090 373.026 375.042 9.4 1.1 0.5

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)

349.571 351.090 352.581 8.6 0.9 0.4

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)

349.560 351.079 352.569 8.6 0.9 0.4

Fuels and utilities

292.074 292.826 293.595 -0.6 0.5 0.3

Household energy

239.030 239.400 239.735 -2.5 0.3 0.1

Energy services

239.116 239.539 239.770 -2.3 0.3 0.1

Electricity

236.426 235.811 236.616 0.0 0.1 0.3

Utility (piped) gas service

237.323 244.573 240.988 -14.9 1.5 -1.5

Household furnishings and operations

148.164 147.159 147.507 2.0 -0.4 0.2

Apparel

138.781 137.767 139.961 3.4 0.9 1.6

Transportation

271.089 272.010 276.864 2.1 2.1 1.8

Private transportation

273.220 274.792 280.107 2.5 2.5 1.9

New and used motor vehicles(2)

132.727 132.285 131.609 -2.4 -0.8 -0.5

New vehicles

187.565 187.684 187.690 2.7 0.1 0.0

New cars and trucks(2)(3)

- - - - - -

New cars(3)

186.210 186.200 186.143 2.0 0.0 0.0

Used cars and trucks

202.838 202.008 199.079 -6.8 -1.9 -1.4

Motor fuel

289.394 295.068 316.698 -0.9 9.4 7.3

Gasoline (all types)

288.407 294.148 315.327 -0.4 9.3 7.2

Unleaded regular(3)

281.747 287.490 308.712 -0.3 9.6 7.4

Unleaded midgrade(3)(4)

322.387 328.117 349.070 -0.8 8.3 6.4

Unleaded premium(3)

313.919 319.076 337.877 -0.6 7.6 5.9

Medical care

520.210 518.123 516.547 -1.5 -0.7 -0.3

Medical care commodities

380.276 382.400 384.064 4.5 1.0 0.4

Medical care services

566.996 563.339 560.553 -3.0 -1.1 -0.5

Professional services

393.186 392.421 391.671 -0.4 -0.4 -0.2

Recreation(2)

135.690 135.541 135.463 3.0 -0.2 -0.1

Education and communication(2)

140.115 140.152 140.453 1.4 0.2 0.2

Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)

1,462.692 1,471.209 1,481.521 3.9 1.3 0.7

Other goods and services

510.268 511.473 511.735 4.6 0.3 0.1

Commodity and service group

All Items

296.789 297.279 298.975 4.1 0.7 0.6

Commodities

222.979 223.169 224.824 1.3 0.8 0.7

Commodities less food and beverages

180.971 180.848 182.693 -0.5 1.0 1.0

Nondurables less food and beverages

232.694 233.558 239.964 1.5 3.1 2.7

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel

289.297 291.200 300.047 1.2 3.7 3.0

Durables

132.367 131.819 131.357 -1.9 -0.8 -0.4

Services

370.926 371.733 373.435 6.0 0.7 0.5

Rent of shelter(1)

358.627 359.867 361.445 8.6 0.8 0.4

Transportation services

454.677 455.235 464.612 13.3 2.2 2.1

Other services

385.779 387.100 388.311 3.8 0.7 0.3

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

284.319 284.926 286.765 4.6 0.9 0.6

All items less food

293.212 293.600 295.429 4.0 0.8 0.6

All items less shelter

277.849 278.048 279.831 2.0 0.7 0.6

Commodities less food

183.572 183.460 185.293 -0.4 0.9 1.0

Nondurables

271.412 272.419 276.130 3.1 1.7 1.4

Nondurables less food

234.061 234.904 240.998 1.6 3.0 2.6

Nondurables less food and apparel

285.515 287.293 295.430 1.3 3.5 2.8

Services less rent of shelter(1)

397.460 397.686 399.605 3.0 0.5 0.5

Services less medical care services

352.558 353.681 355.691 7.2 0.9 0.6

Energy

256.869 259.597 269.420 -2.2 4.9 3.8

All items less energy

302.538 302.826 303.789 4.8 0.4 0.3

All items less food and energy

300.336 300.480 301.484 4.8 0.4 0.3

Commodities less food and energy commodities

171.527 170.877 170.821 0.2 -0.4 0.0

Energy commodities

294.106 299.704 321.371 -1.1 9.3 7.2

Services less energy services

384.856 385.703 387.556 6.6 0.7 0.5

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.
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, September 13, 2023