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), 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.)

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.

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.