New York-New Jersey Information Office

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12–970–NEW

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

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Technical information:
Media contact:
  • Martin Kohli (646) 264-3620

Consumer Price Index, New York-Northern New Jersey – April 2012

Area prices up 0.2 percent over the month and 2.4 percent over the year

Prices in the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), edged up 0.2 percent in April, after rising between 0.4 and 0.6 percent in each of the prior three months, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Deborah A. Brown primarily attributed the increase to a rise in the price of gasoline that was partly offset by lower prices for shelter. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

For the year ended in April 2012, the CPI-U rose 2.4 percent, reflecting higher prices for shelter and food. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.5 percent, about the same rate it has been since September. During the same time period, the 12-month percentage change in the all-items index dropped 1.4 percentage points. (See table A.and chart 1.)

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, April 2009–April 2012

Food

The food index inched up 0.2 percent, following a 0.1-percent dip in March. Prices for food at home were unchanged in April. Higher prices for breakfast cereal, eggs, ground beef, and cakes, cupcakes and cookies were offset by price declines for other groceries, including soups, frozen food, salad dressing, and butter and margarine. In contrast, food away from home rose 0.3 percent.

For the 12 months ended in April, food rose 3.7 percent. Food at home increased 4.2 percent, while food away from home rose 3.0 percent. (See table 1.)

Energy

The energy index posted a 0.9-percent rise, which followed an advance of 2.8 percent in March. The index mirrored a slowdown in price increases for gasoline, which rose 3.2 percent, after climbing 5.4 percent in February and 4.4 percent in March. In April, higher gasoline prices were largely offset by lower charges for household energy services—prices for natural gas dropped 3.3 percent, while prices for electricity decreased 0.7 percent.

From April 2011 to April 2012, energy decreased 0.9 percent, marking the first decline in the 12-month rate since December 2009. Household energy services fell 6.5 percent, primarily reflecting a 15.2-percent drop in the price of natural gas, which has recorded over-the-year declines for 37 consecutive months. .

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy ticked up 0.1 percent, following a 0.6-percent rise in March. Prices for household furnishings and operations jumped 1.2 percent over the month. Medical care prices rose 0.2 percent for the second consecutive month, and prices also increased for airline fares, other intercity transportation, and new and used motor vehicles. On the other hand, prices for shelter turned negative (-0.1 percent), with lower prices for out-of-town lodging outweighing a 0.2-percent increase in residential rent.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 2.5 percent. Shelter prices increased 1.9 percent, with residential rent rising 2.2 percent. Prices for medical care increased 4.8 percent.

Table A. New York-Northern New Jersey CPI-U monthly and annual percent changes (not seasonally adjusted)
Month 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Monthly Annual Monthly Annual Monthly Annual Monthly Annual Monthly Annual Monthly Annual

January

 0.2 2.7 0.2 3.7 0.2 1.5 0.2 2.4 0.3 1.5 0.4 2.8

February

 0.6 3.1 0.5 3.6 0.5 1.6 0.0 1.8 0.5 2.1 0.4 2.6

March

 0.7 2.9 0.9 3.8 0.2 0.8 0.5 2.1 0.7 2.3 0.6 2.6

April

 0.5 2.5 0.3 3.6 0.2 0.8 0.2 2.1 0.4 2.5 0.2 2.4

May

 0.6 2.5 1.0 4.0 0.2 -0.1 0.2 2.2 0.6 2.9

June

 0.5 2.5 1.0 4.5 0.5 -0.6 -0.1 1.5 0.2 3.2

July

 0.2 2.5 0.7 5.1 0.2 -1.1 0.1 1.5 0.3 3.3

August

 -0.1 1.9 0.1 5.4 0.3 -0.9 0.2 1.4 0.4 3.5

September

 0.0 2.4 -0.2 5.2 0.1 -0.6 0.0 1.2 0.2 3.8

October

 0.1 3.1 -0.7 4.3 -0.1 0.0 0.2 1.5 -0.2 3.3

November

 0.4 3.9 -1.6 2.2 0.2 1.8 0.0 1.3 -0.3 3.0

December

 0.0 3.7 -0.6 1.6 -0.1 2.3 0.0 1.4 -0.4 2.7

CPI-W

In April, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 248.706, up 0.2 percent over the month. The CPI-W increased 2.5 percent over the year.

The May 2012 Consumer Price Index for New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island is scheduled to be released on Thursday, June 14, 2012 at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).

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 25,000 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/homch17_a.htm.

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 New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Conn.-Pa. consolidated area covered in this release is comprised of Bronx, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties in New York State; Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren Counties in New Jersey; Fairfield County and parts of Litchfield, Middlesex, and New Haven Counties in Connecticut; and Pike County in Pennsylvania.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339.

For personal assistance or further information on Consumer Price Indexes, as well as other Bureau products, contact the New York-New Jersey Information Office at (646) 264-3600 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods, New York-Northern N.J.-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)
Item and Group Indexes Percent change from-
Feb.
2012		 March
2012		 April
2012		 April
2011		 Feb.
2012		 March
2012

Expenditure category

All items

 250.285 251.887 252.349 2.4 0.8 0.2

All items (1967=100)

 723.540 728.171 729.507

Food and beverages

 242.470 242.203 242.597 3.5 0.1 0.2

Food

 242.208 241.884 242.256 3.7 0.0 0.2

Food at home

 243.360 242.428 242.545 4.2 -0.3 0.0

Food away from home

 247.169 247.632 248.345 3.0 0.5 0.3

Alcoholic beverages

 242.387 242.927 243.636 0.6 0.5 0.3

Housing

 262.504 263.648 263.310 1.2 0.3 -0.1

Shelter

 320.751 322.080 321.721 1.9 0.3 -0.1

Rent of primary residence (1)

324.670 325.323 326.117 2.2 0.4 0.2

Owners' equivalent rent of residences (1) (2)

327.814 328.984 329.219 1.7 0.4 0.1

Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence (1) (2)

327.659 328.833 329.059 1.7 0.4 0.1

Fuels and utilities

 194.362 196.419 194.044 -4.4 -0.2 -1.2

Household energy

 190.831 193.145 190.355 -5.5 -0.2 -1.4

Energy services (1)

172.204 174.637 171.964 -6.5 -0.1 -1.5

Electricity (1)

175.962 176.213 174.990 -2.0 -0.6 -0.7

Utility (piped) gas service (1)

159.461 166.159 160.683 -15.2 0.8 -3.3

Household furnishings and operations

 122.507 122.266 123.736 1.5 1.0 1.2

Apparel

 119.832 127.061 127.399 4.1 6.3 0.3

Transportation

 226.009 228.950 231.835 3.4 2.6 1.3

Private transportation

 215.867 218.496 220.918 3.5 2.3 1.1

Motor fuel

 288.323 300.810 310.219 4.0 7.6 3.1

Gasoline (all types)

 287.100 299.659 309.185 3.9 7.7 3.2

Gasoline, unleaded regular (3)

291.156 304.028 313.535 3.8 7.7 3.1

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (3) (4)

286.330 298.680 308.666 4.5 7.8 3.3

Gasoline, unleaded premium (3)

278.905 290.438 300.082 4.2 7.6 3.3

Medical care

 408.337 409.317 410.020 4.8 0.4 0.2

Recreation (5)

118.512 118.547 118.524 3.4 0.0 0.0

Education and communication (5)

138.570 138.471 138.576 2.2 0.0 0.1

Other goods and services

 388.643 391.090 391.012 2.5 0.6 0.0

Commodity and service group

All items

 250.285 251.887 252.349 2.4 0.8 0.2

Commodities

 192.473 194.735 195.827 2.9 1.7 0.6

Commodities less food and beverages

 158.812 162.193 163.571 2.5 3.0 0.8

Nondurables less food and beverages

 201.293 207.455 209.459 3.0 4.1 1.0

Durables

 104.634 104.776 105.396 1.8 0.7 0.6

Services

 299.875 300.914 300.840 2.1 0.3 0.0

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

 243.263 244.878 245.329 2.2 0.8 0.2

All items less shelter

 222.789 224.500 225.286 2.6 1.1 0.4

Commodities less food

 162.316 165.626 166.990 2.4 2.9 0.8

Nondurables

 224.297 227.455 228.715 3.1 2.0 0.6

Nondurables less food

 204.127 209.984 211.920 2.8 3.8 0.9

Services less rent of shelter (2)

287.545 288.292 288.548 2.3 0.3 0.1

Services less medical care services

 291.014 292.085 291.895 1.9 0.3 -0.1

Energy

 230.974 237.342 239.373 -0.9 3.6 0.9

All items less energy

 253.938 255.079 255.390 2.7 0.6 0.1

All items less food and energy

 257.658 259.089 259.389 2.5 0.7 0.1

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) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
(5) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.

NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.
The New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA consolidated area comprises the five boroughs of New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, and Orange Counties in New York State; Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Monmouth, Middlesex, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren Counties in New Jersey; Fairfield County and parts of Litchfield, New Haven, and Middlesex Counties in Connecticut; and Pike County in Pennsylvania.

Last Modified Date: June 14, 2012

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