U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

New York-New Jersey Information Office

Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until                  NYLS - 7468
8:30 a.m. (EST), Friday, January 14, 2011

Technical information: Martin Kohli (646) 264-3620 • BLSInfoNY@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/ro2
Media contact:         Michael L. Dolfman (212) 337-2500


 Consumer Price Index, New York-Northern New Jersey - December 2010
Area prices unchanged over the month and up 1.4 percent over the year
 
Prices in the greater New York area, as measured by the Consumer
Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), were unchanged for the
second consecutive month in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. For the past nine months, price changes
in the New York area have been small, ranging from -0.1 to 0.2
percent. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Michael L. Dolfman
said the December index reflected declines in food and apparel
prices that were offset by higher energy prices. (Data in this
report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month
changes may reflect seasonal influences.)
 
Over the year, the CPI-U rose 1.4 percent. (See chart 1.) The index
for all items less food and energy increased 0.9 percent, the
smallest 12-month increase since the series start in 1982.

Food
The food index edged down 0.2 percent in December, after rising in
each of the four prior months. The downturn was attributable to a 0.6-
percent decline in prices for food at home. Groceries with lower
December prices included bacon, breakfast sausage, and related
products; citrus fruits; and other beverage materials, including tea.
In contrast, the food-away-from-home component rose 0.3 percent. (See
table 1.)

For the 12 months ended in December, food prices increased 1.4
percent. Prices rose for both groceries (1.8 percent) and for food
away from home (1.0 percent).

Energy
In December, the energy index registered its third successive
increase, 2.9 percent. Gasoline prices advanced 4.9 percent, after
rising 4.3 percent in November, and household energy prices increased
1.4 percent. All of the components of household energy had higher
December prices, including electricity (0.8 percent), natural gas (0.7
percent), and fuel oil.

Over the year, energy prices climbed 6.9 percent, with prices for
gasoline jumping 15.0 percent. Household energy prices increased 1.1
percent.

All items less food and energy
The index for all items less food and energy decreased 0.3 percent for
the second consecutive month. The December decline was led by a 5.3-
percent drop in apparel prices, reflecting seasonal sales. Among other
categories, education and communication fell 0.6 percent, with lower
prices recorded for personal computers and peripheral equipment, and
recreation decreased 0.4 percent. These declines were partially offset
by higher prices for medical care (0.3 percent) and for shelter (0.1
percent). Within shelter, owners' equivalent rent was unchanged, as
was residential rent (which was also unchanged in November).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 0.9
percent, reflecting a 0.9-percent increase in shelter. The index for
education and communication was unchanged over the year for the first
time since the start of the series in 1997.

Table A. New York-Northern New Jersey CPI monthly and annual percent changes
(not seasonally adjusted)

           |2005    |   2006    |   2007    |   2008    |   2009    |   2010  
   Month   | Mo | Ann  | Mo | Ann  | Mo | Ann  | Mo | Ann  | Mo | Ann  | Mo | Ann

January     0.6  4.1    0.8  3.7    0.2  2.7    0.2  3.7    0.2  1.5    0.2  2.4
February    0.4  3.9    0.2  3.6    0.6  3.1    0.5  3.6    0.5  1.6    0.0  1.8
March       1.7  4.4    0.8  2.7    0.7  2.9    0.9  3.8    0.2  0.8    0.5  2.1
April       0.0  4.2    0.9  3.6    0.5  2.5    0.3  3.6    0.2  0.8    0.2  2.1
May        -0.5  3.4    0.6  4.8    0.6  2.5    1.0  4.0    0.2 -0.1    0.2  2.2
June       -0.3  2.3    0.5  5.6    0.5  2.5    1.0  4.5    0.5 -0.6   -0.1  1.5
    
July        0.9  3.4    0.2  5.0    0.2  2.5    0.7  5.1    0.2 -1.1    0.1  1.5
August      0.8  4.1    0.4  4.7   -0.1  1.9    0.1  5.4    0.3 -0.9    0.2  1.4
September 0.8  4.8   -0.5  3.3    0.0  2.4   -0.2  5.2    0.1 -0.6    0.0  1.2
October 0.4  4.5   -0.5  2.4    0.1  3.1   -0.7  4.3   -0.1  0.0    0.2  1.5
November   -0.6  3.9   -0.4  2.6    0.4  3.9   -1.6  2.2    0.2  1.8    0.0  1.3
December-0.5  3.6    0.2  3.3    0.0  3.7   -0.6  1.6   -0.1  2.3    0.0  1.4


CPI-W
In December, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical
Workers (CPI-W) was 237.575, virtually unchanged over the month. The CPI-W
increased 1.8 percent over the year.

The January 2011 Consumer Price Index for New York-Northern New Jersey is
scheduled to be released on Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 8:30 a.m. (EST).

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
87 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners
and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 32 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 12:30
p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET.

Last Modified Date: February 17, 2011