Prices in the San Diego area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), declined 0.3 percent for the two months ending in July 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard J. Holden noted that the July decrease was influenced by lower prices for gasoline, food, and recreation. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 1.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices increased 1.3 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.4 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices declined 1.0 percent for the two months ending in July. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home decreased 1.3 percent, and prices for food away from home declined 0.7 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 1.3 percent. Prices for food away from home advanced 2.4 percent since a year ago, and prices for food at home increased 0.5 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 0.3 percent for the two months ending in July. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for electricity (13.5 percent). Prices for natural gas service increased 3.4 percent, but prices for gasoline decreased 5.4 percent over the past two months.

Energy prices increased 1.3 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (3.3 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service increased 1.7 percent, but prices for electricity declined 2.6 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy decreased 0.3 percent in the latest two-month period. Lower prices for recreation (-2.0 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-1.4 percent) were partially offset by higher prices for apparel (2.6 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (1.6 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.4 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (3.3 percent) and household furnishings and operations (3.3 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price declines in apparel (-14.6 percent), alcoholic beverages (-5.2 percent), and recreation (-1.5 percent).

The September 2019 Consumer Price Index for the San Diego area is scheduled to be released on October 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-
	May 2019	Jun. 2019	Jul. 2019	Jul. 2018	May 2019	Jun. 2019
Expenditure category
All items	300.303	-	299.333	1.4	-0.3	-
All items (1967=100)	1,015.415	-	1,012.135	-	-	-
Food and beverages	261.494	-	258.336	0.7	-1.2	-
Food	259.188	-	256.476	1.3	-1.0	-
Food at home	231.814	229.785	228.779	0.5	-1.3	-0.4
Cereals and bakery products	271.695	-	267.664	6.0	-1.5	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	235.542	-	229.556	-2.1	-2.5	-
Dairy and related products	188.898	-	187.593	2.2	-0.7	-
Fruits and vegetables	263.674	-	264.580	0.2	0.3	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	253.027	-	249.966	-2.7	-1.2	-
Other food at home	218.044	-	214.551	1.0	-1.6	-
Food away from home	295.021	-	292.841	2.4	-0.7	-
Food away from home	295.021	-	292.841	2.4	-0.7	-
Alcoholic beverages	275.795	-	267.968	-5.2	-2.8	-
Housing	355.818	-	357.487	2.9	0.5	-
Shelter	403.148	401.427	403.840	3.3	0.2	0.6
Rent of primary residence(2)	396.176	397.100	398.695	2.4	0.6	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)	425.342	426.507	428.972	4.5	0.9	0.6
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)	425.342	426.507	428.972	4.5	0.9	0.6
Fuels and utilities	330.424	-	351.388	-1.1	6.3	-
Household energy	291.213	323.099	324.290	-1.9	11.4	0.4
Energy services	286.871	319.309	320.610	-1.9	11.8	0.4
Electricity	285.687	324.183	324.183	-2.6	13.5	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service	201.717	203.228	208.597	1.7	3.4	2.6
Household furnishings and operations	199.170	-	196.300	3.3	-1.4	-
Apparel	149.517	-	153.363	-14.6	2.6	-
Transportation	240.940	-	234.757	2.1	-2.6	-
Private transportation	232.537	-	229.641	3.0	-1.2	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	107.534	-	109.230	2.9	1.6	-
New vehicles(1)	231.461	-	233.627	3.1	0.9	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	231.507	-	237.776	1.1	2.7	-
Motor fuel	321.484	310.533	304.325	3.4	-5.3	-2.0
Gasoline (all types)	321.703	310.658	304.265	3.3	-5.4	-2.1
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	334.446	322.459	315.629	3.3	-5.6	-2.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	278.289	268.728	264.713	4.5	-4.9	-1.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	322.488	314.217	308.488	3.5	-4.3	-1.8
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	534.137	-	534.137	0.7	0.0	-
Medical care	488.287	-	492.275	-	0.8	-
Recreation(3)	155.530	-	152.422	-1.5	-2.0	-
Education and communication(3)	131.607	-	131.299	-0.9	-0.2	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,576.375	-	1,578.552	0.6	0.1	-
Other goods and services	411.888	-	410.943	2.6	-0.2	-
Commodity and service group
All items	300.303	-	299.333	1.4	-0.3	-
Commodities	207.448	-	204.823	-0.1	-1.3	-
Commodities less food & beverages	178.400	-	176.079	-0.6	-1.3	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	210.322	-	208.043	-2.4	-1.1	-
Durables	145.133	-	142.770	2.2	-1.6	-
Services	382.291	-	382.877	2.2	0.2	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	291.435	-	290.235	1.3	-0.4	-
All items less shelter	259.700	-	258.082	0.3	-0.6	-
Commodities less food	182.834	-	180.307	-0.9	-1.4	-
Nondurables	237.176	-	234.457	-0.9	-1.1	-
Nondurables less food	216.579	-	213.909	-2.7	-1.2	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	376.696	-	377.177	0.8	0.1	-
Services less medical care services	370.413	-	370.732	2.0	0.1	-
Energy	307.044	311.365	307.845	1.3	0.3	-1.1
All items less energy	302.418	-	301.310	1.4	-0.4	-
All items less food and energy	311.771	-	310.932	1.4	-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.