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), retreated 0.2 percent in October after advancing for nine consecutive months, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The over-the-month decline was the largest since December 2008. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Michael L. Dolfman attributed the monthly decrease to lower prices for energy, which were partially offset by higher prices for food, shelter, and apparel. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

For the 12 months ended in October 2011, the CPI-U rose 3.3 percent, primarily because of higher energy and shelter prices. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.5 percent, the highest rate posted since April 2009. (See chart 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.3 percent for the second consecutive month. Prices for food at home rose 0.4 percent. Higher prices were reported for tomatoes, salad dressing, and sugar and artificial sweeteners. Prices for food away from home ticked up 0.1 percent.

Over the year, the food index rose 3.8 percent, with food at home advancing 4.6 percent and food away from home, 2.9 percent. (See table 1.)

Energy

The energy index fell 4.4 percent, the fourth decline in five months. Household energy prices retreated 4.6 percent, the largest one-month price decrease in three years, reflecting a sharp 7.1-percent drop in electricity charges (due, in part, to the removal of summer surcharges), along with a 2.7-percent decrease in natural gas prices. Gasoline prices receded for the fifth consecutive month (-4.3 percent).

From October 2010 to October 2011, energy prices rose 11.8 percent, with gasoline prices rising 26.2 percent and household energy prices increasing 1.0 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.2 percent, after posting a 0.3-percent rise in September. Shelter prices inched up 0.2 percent, with residential rent rising 0.3 percent. Apparel prices increased 1.1 percent over the month, and other goods and services, 0.5 percent. Higher prices were reported for cosmetics and motor vehicle insurance.

For the 12 months ended in October, the index for all items less food and energy rose 2.5 percent, led by increases for apparel (4.8 percent) and medical care (3.4 percent). Shelter prices rose 2.1 percent.

CPI-W

In October, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 246.297, down 0.2 percent over the month. The CPI-W increased 3.7 percent over the year.

The November 2011 Consumer Price Index for New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island is scheduled to be released on Friday, December 16, 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: December 16, 2011