U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

New York-New Jersey Information Office

Prices in the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), ticked down 0.1 percent in June, after increasing in each of the prior five months, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli attributed the downturn to lower energy and food prices that were partially offset by a rise in the price of shelter. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

For the 12 months ended in June 2012, the CPI-U rose 1.6 percent, the smallest rate of increase since January 2011. (See chart 1. and table A. ) The over-the-year change reflected higher prices for shelter and food. The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.2 percent.

Food

The food index dipped 0.3 percent, after advancing 0.5 percent in May. The retreat was due to prices for food at home falling 0.7 percent, the largest one-month drop since July 2009. Price reductions were reported for potatoes, coffee, and ice cream. In contrast, prices for food away home edged up 0.2 percent, about the same increase recorded in each of the past four months.

Over the year, the food index rose 2.7 percent. Food at home increased 2.7 percent and food away from home, 2.6 percent. (See table 1.)

Energy

The energy index registered its second consecutive decline, dropping 1.7 percent in June. Prices for gasoline fell 6.3 percent, the largest monthly decline since December 2008. Fuel oil charges also decreased. These declines were partially offset by a 5.3-percent jump in household energy services. Prices for electricity climbed 6.5 percent, with the imposition of seasonal surcharges. Natural gas prices rose 2.6 percent, after dropping in each of the two prior months.

Over the year, the energy index declined 5.7 percent, with gasoline prices falling 6.1 percent. Household energy services were also down (4.5 percent), largely due to a 13.3-percent drop in natural gas charges.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy inched up 0.1 percent, after rising 0.2 percent in May. Prices for shelter and owners' equivalent rent increased 0.3 percent, while residential rent rose 0.2 percent. A 0.5-percent rise in prices for recreation included increases for pets and pet products as well as admission fees. Other price increases included new and used motor vehicles, along with car and truck rental. On the other hand, apparel prices, often down in June, fell 3.9 percent, and education and communication ticked down 0.1 percent, with lower prices for personal computers.

From June 2011 to June 2012, the index for all items less food and energy rose 2.2 percent. Shelter prices increased 1.7 percent and residential rent, 2.4 percent. Apparel, recreation, and education and communication prices rose between 2.5 and 2.9 percent, while medical care prices climbed 5.3 percent.

CPI-W

In June, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 248.488, down 0.2 percent over the month. The CPI-W increased 1.6 percent over the year.

The July 2012 Consumer Price Index for New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, August 15, 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.

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