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), increased 0.4 percent in September, following a 0.6-percent rise in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli said the September increase was driven by higher prices for energy and apparel. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

For the year ended in September 2012, the CPI-U rose 1.6 percent. (See chart 1. and table A. ) The over-the-year rise was primarily due to an increase in shelter. Food, gasoline, and medical care also contributed to the advance. The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.6 percent.

Food

The food index dipped 0.1 percent, after rising 0.2 percent in each of the two prior months. Lower prices for food at home accounted for the downturn, with declines reported for uncooked beef roasts and steaks, sugar and artificial sweeteners, and candy and chewing gum. Prices for food away from home advanced 0.1 percent, the tenth consecutive rise.

From September 2011 to September 2012, the food index increased 2.0 percent. At-home food prices rose 1.5 percent, and away-from-home food prices increased 2.6 percent. (See table 1.)

Energy

The energy index rose 3.4 percent, following a 2.4-percent rise in August. The September increase, the largest since May 2011, was primarily due to gasoline prices climbing 4.4 percent. Electricity prices jumped 4.0 percent after declining in each of the two prior months, and fuel oil also contributed to the advance. In contrast, natural gas prices declined 1.1 percent.

The 12-month percent change for energy turned positive, 1.1 percent, after being negative since April. A 6.5-percent rise in gasoline prices outweighed a 3.8-percent decline in household energy, reflecting declines in both natural gas and electricity.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.2 percent, following a 0.5-percent increase in August. A 3.6-percent rise in apparel reflected seasonal price increases. Higher child care and nursery school fees contributed to a 0.4-percent rise in education and communication. Shelter was unchanged over the month; residential rent rose 0.3 percent, but was offset by a decline in out-of-town lodging.

For the 12 months ended in September, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.6 percent. Also increasing by 1.6 percent were apparel and shelter. The shelter increase partly reflected a 2.5-percent advance in residential rent. Education and communication increased 1.7 percent, and medical care prices rose 4.8 percent.

CPI-W

In September, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 250.980, up 0.5 percent over the month. The CPI-W increased 1.7 percent over the year.

The October 2012 Consumer Price Index for New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island is scheduled to be released on Thursday, November 15, 2012 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 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: 800-877-8339.

Last Modified Date: November 16, 2011

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