Prices in the West Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), inched up 0.1 percent in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The September increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter and apparel. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the all items CPI-U advanced 2.0 percent. (See chart 1.) Energy prices rose 0.5 percent, largely the result of increases in prices for natural gas service. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.0 percent since September 2013.

Food

Food prices inched up 0.1 percent for the month of September. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home crept up 0.2 percent in September, and prices for food at home edged up 0.1 percent.

Over the year, food prices advanced 3.3 percent. Prices for food at home rose 3.8 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home increased 2.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index declined 1.6 percent over the month. The decrease was primarily due to lower prices for gasoline (-2.9 percent). Prices for electricity declined 0.6 percent in September, but prices for natural gas service rose 3.1 percent.

Energy prices rose 0.5 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for natural gas service (14.5 percent), though prices paid for electricity also advanced, up 2.3 percent. In contrast, prices for gasoline decreased 2.5 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.3 percent in September. Higher prices for categories such as apparel (2.8 percent) and shelter (0.3 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-1.5 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-0.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.0 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (3.4 percent) and medical care (2.4 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were annual price declines for household furnishings and operations (-1.5 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (-1.1 percent).

CPI-W

In September, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 235.974, up 0.1 percent from August. The CPI-W increased 1.9 percent over the year.

The October 2014 Consumer Price Index for the West Region is scheduled to be released on November 20, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. (PDT).

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 88 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 29 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 4,000 housing units and approximately 26,000 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 West Region covered in this release is comprised of the following thirteen states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods

West (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Jul. 2014	Aug. 2014	Sep. 2014	Sep. 2013	Jul. 2014	Aug. 2014
Expenditure category
All Items	241.850	241.660	241.920	2.0	0.0	0.1
All items (December 1977=100)	390.937	390.630	391.050
Food and beverages	244.859	246.396	246.725	3.2	0.8	0.1
Food	245.036	246.437	246.789	3.3	0.7	0.1
Food at home	245.467	247.189	247.510	3.8	0.8	0.1
Food away from home	243.223	244.165	244.558	2.6	0.5	0.2
Alcoholic beverages	239.247	242.485	242.517	1.8	1.4	0.0
Housing	247.034	247.359	248.005	3.1	0.4	0.3
Shelter	276.821	277.648	278.524	3.4	0.6	0.3
Rent of primary residence (1)	289.131	290.083	291.184	3.9	0.7	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of residences (1) (2)	290.111	290.940	291.985	3.2	0.6	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence (1) (2)	290.108	290.938	291.979	3.2	0.6	0.4
Fuels and utilities	281.080	279.676	280.414	5.0	-0.2	0.3
Household energy	251.911	249.454	250.309	5.2	-0.6	0.3
Energy services (1)	253.755	251.295	252.024	5.1	-0.7	0.3
Electricity (1)	276.262	274.835	273.175	2.3	-1.1	-0.6
Utility (piped) gas service (1)	216.145	211.058	217.545	14.5	0.6	3.1
Household furnishings and operations	128.481	127.836	127.616	-1.5	-0.7	-0.2
Apparel	118.482	119.706	123.108	2.0	3.9	2.8
Transportation	222.358	218.606	216.202	-1.0	-2.8	-1.1
Private transportation	216.413	213.479	210.883	-0.9	-2.6	-1.2
New and used motor vehicles (3)	101.809	101.267	100.706	-1.1	-1.1	-0.6
New vehicles	145.215	143.985	144.067	-0.2	-0.8	0.1
New cars and trucks (3) (4)	100.938	100.080	100.138	-0.2	-0.8	0.1
New cars (4)	145.885	144.653	144.745	-0.5	-0.8	0.1
Used cars and trucks	148.716	149.067	146.904	-0.8	-1.2	-1.5
Motor fuel	320.394	310.314	301.502	-2.4	-5.9	-2.8
Gasoline (all types)	319.174	309.000	300.027	-2.5	-6.0	-2.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular (4)	318.485	308.215	299.153	-2.5	-6.1	-2.9
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (4) (5)	299.040	289.695	281.633	-2.5	-5.8	-2.8
Gasoline, unleaded premium (4)	301.920	292.707	284.500	-2.8	-5.8	-2.8
Medical Care	440.896	440.232	442.039	2.4	0.3	0.4
Medical care commodities	331.634	330.029	333.431	2.3	0.5	1.0
Medical care services	475.835	475.563	476.690	2.4	0.2	0.2
Professional services	330.687	332.238	332.163	2.1	0.4	0.0
Recreation (3)	110.377	110.146	110.199	0.8	-0.2	0.0
Education and communication (3)	138.469	138.755	139.189	0.9	0.5	0.3
Other goods and services	398.041	399.953	400.006	1.5	0.5	0.0
Commodity and Service Group
All Items	241.850	241.660	241.920	2.0	0.0	0.1
Commodities	185.993	185.559	185.335	0.7	-0.4	-0.1
Commodities less food & beverages	155.281	154.049	153.606	-1.0	-1.1	-0.3
Nondurables less food & beverages	203.310	201.368	200.939	-0.3	-1.2	-0.2
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel	262.590	258.520	255.547	-1.1	-2.7	-1.2
Durables	111.029	110.446	109.991	-1.9	-0.9	-0.4
Services	292.990	293.037	293.760	2.9	0.3	0.2
Rent of shelter (2)	294.459	295.354	296.288	3.4	0.6	0.3
Transportation services	280.388	276.086	275.671	0.7	-1.7	-0.2
Other services	333.523	333.879	334.765	1.7	0.4	0.3
Special aggregate indexes:
All items less medical care	232.666	232.496	232.693	2.0	0.0	0.1
All items less food	241.544	241.101	241.346	1.8	-0.1	0.1
All items less shelter	229.125	228.500	228.499	1.3	-0.3	0.0
Commodities less food	158.677	157.570	157.138	-0.9	-1.0	-0.3
Nondurables	225.201	224.871	224.793	1.5	-0.2	0.0
Nondurables less food	206.501	204.859	204.456	-0.2	-1.0	-0.2
Nondurables less food and apparel	259.945	256.583	253.904	-0.9	-2.3	-1.0
Services less rent of shelter (2)	324.457	323.395	323.926	2.2	-0.2	0.2
Services less medical care services	280.276	280.341	281.036	2.9	0.3	0.2
Energy	292.578	285.855	281.340	0.5	-3.8	-1.6
All items less energy	239.967	240.270	240.894	2.2	0.4	0.3
All items less food and energy	239.834	239.946	240.619	2.0	0.3	0.3
Commodities less food and energy commodities	140.437	140.401	140.953	-0.3	0.4	0.4
Energy commodities	324.557	314.455	305.804	-2.3	-5.8	-2.8
Services less energy services	296.226	296.432	297.157	2.8	0.3	0.2
Footnotes (1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (2) Index is on a December 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.
Regions defined as the four Census regions. West includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.