Prices in the Honolulu area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.7 percent for the two months ending in May 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the May increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 5.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices rose 3.6 percent. Energy prices advanced 2.7 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of electricity. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 5.8 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Urban Hawaii, May 2021–May 2024

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
May 2021	3.8	3.3
Jul 2021	4.6	3.8
Sep 2021	5.0	4.1
Nov 2021	5.4	3.4
Jan 2022	6.0	3.9
Mar 2022	7.5	5.3
May 2022	7.0	4.3
Jul 2022	6.8	3.9
Sep 2022	6.6	4.1
Nov 2022	5.8	3.6
Jan 2023	5.2	3.7
Mar 2023	3.3	3.0
May 2023	2.0	2.5
Jul 2023	2.1	3.3
Sep 2023	2.2	3.0
Nov 2023	3.6	4.8
Jan 2024	3.9	4.7
Mar 2024	4.8	5.6
May 2024	5.2	5.8

Food prices rose 0.8 percent for the two months ending in May. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home increased 0.4 percent, led by higher prices for cereals and bakery products (4.1 percent). Prices for food away from home increased 1.4 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 3.6 percent. Prices for food at home increased 1.4 percent since a year ago, led by higher prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (5.4 percent). Prices for food away from home increased 6.7 percent.

The energy index advanced 2.2 percent for the two months ending in May. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (2.3 percent). Prices for natural gas service increased 13.7 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 1.3 percent for the same period.

Energy prices advanced 2.7 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for electricity (4.7 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service increased 0.6 percent, and prices for gasoline advanced 0.3 percent during the past year.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.6 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for education and communication (1.6 percent) and shelter (1.3 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-4.6 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 5.8 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (10.7 percent) and recreation (4.5 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in apparel (-7.8 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (-6.9 percent).

The July 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Honolulu area is scheduled to be released on August 14, 2024.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measures 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 93 percent of the total U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. 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 75 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 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; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000.  Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods available on the internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/.

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 Urban Hawaii area covered in this release consists of Honolulu in the State of Hawaii.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods

Urban Hawaii (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes				Percent change from-
	Historical data	Mar. 2024	Apr. 2024	May 2024	May 2023	Mar. 2024	Apr. 2024
Expenditure category
All items		338.060	-	340.521	5.2	0.7	-
All items (1967=100)		930.670	-	937.444	-	-	-
Food and beverages		360.853	-	363.995	3.6	0.9	-
Food		364.926	-	368.023	3.6	0.8	-
Food at home		346.237	347.695	347.708	1.4	0.4	0.0
Cereals and bakery products		388.776	398.915	404.693	0.9	4.1	1.4
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		329.778	330.915	333.503	5.4	1.1	0.8
Dairy and related products		283.982	292.855	284.878	-0.5	0.3	-2.7
Fruits and vegetables		396.015	395.569	399.095	-0.1	0.8	0.9
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		427.840	421.119	421.033	-3.5	-1.6	0.0
Other food at home		350.315	349.598	345.546	2.1	-1.4	-1.2
Food away from home		381.321	-	386.672	6.7	1.4	-
Alcoholic beverages		292.933	-	297.635	4.4	1.6	-
Housing		369.234	-	373.775	9.3	1.2	-
Shelter		402.463	409.214	407.846	10.7	1.3	-0.3
Rent of primary residence(2)		403.843	409.458	410.280	12.4	1.6	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		414.796	419.114	419.759	10.2	1.2	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		414.796	419.114	419.759	10.2	1.2	0.2
Fuels and utilities		463.097	-	469.384	4.2	1.4	-
Household energy		389.891	393.587	398.073	4.6	2.1	1.1
Energy services		383.321	386.967	391.453	4.7	2.1	1.2
Electricity		381.228	381.644	386.156	4.7	1.3	1.2
Utility (piped) gas service		346.484	390.376	393.804	0.6	13.7	0.9
Household furnishings and operations		167.329	-	166.961	0.6	-0.2	-
Apparel		126.207	-	120.416	-7.8	-4.6	-
Transportation		273.132	-	273.798	0.1	0.2	-
Private transportation		281.033	-	280.027	-0.8	-0.4	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		121.676	-	121.219	-6.9	-0.4	-
New vehicles(1)		187.209	-	184.652	-5.4	-1.4	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		311.276	-	313.223	-8.8	0.6	-
Motor fuel		364.643	369.228	372.953	0.2	2.3	1.0
Gasoline (all types)		374.154	379.027	382.932	0.3	2.3	1.0
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		388.554	393.751	397.802	0.4	2.4	1.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		310.486	313.862	317.371	0.1	2.2	1.1
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		350.534	354.702	358.352	-0.2	2.2	1.0
Medical care		-	-	509.932	0.0	-	-
Recreation(3)		155.260	-	155.936	4.5	0.4	-
Education and communication(3)		153.397	-	155.866	-0.6	1.6	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		2,007.393	-	2,007.393	4.4	0.0	-
Other goods and services		619.852	-	617.417	1.0	-0.4	-
Commodity and service group
All items		338.060	-	340.521	5.2	0.7	-
Commodities		250.972	-	251.552	-0.6	0.2	-
Commodities less food & beverages		186.004	-	185.315	-4.0	-0.4	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		246.797	-	245.135	-1.8	-0.7	-
Durables		125.955	-	125.881	-6.3	-0.1	-
Services		414.129	-	418.202	8.2	1.0	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		328.620	-	331.416	5.6	0.9	-
All items less shelter		309.840	-	310.754	1.4	0.3	-
Commodities less food		190.212	-	189.609	-3.7	-0.3	-
Nondurables		305.791	-	306.800	1.4	0.3	-
Nondurables less food		249.741	-	248.351	-1.5	-0.6	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)		424.292	-	425.907	4.0	0.4	-
Services less medical care services		405.400	-	409.592	8.8	1.0	-
Energy		376.132	380.345	384.402	2.7	2.2	1.1
All items less energy		337.890	-	340.038	5.4	0.6	-
All items less food and energy		335.168	-	337.152	5.8	0.6	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
- Data not available NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.