Prices in the Hawaii Area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.5 percent for the two months ending in March 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the March increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter, gasoline, and apparel. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 1.8 percent.  (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices declined 0.7 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.1 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices declined 0.5 percent for the two months ending in March. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home decreased 1.2 percent, but prices for food away from home advanced 0.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 1.3 percent. Prices for food away from home increased 3.8 percent since a year ago, but prices for food at home decreased 1.0 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 0.5 percent for the two months ending in March. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (4.7 percent). Prices for natural gas service moved up 2.3 percent, but prices for electricity moved down 4.2 percent for the same period.

Energy prices declined 0.7 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-3.3 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service jumped 23.9 percent, and prices for electricity increased 1.6 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.6 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for apparel (5.9 percent) and shelter (0.5 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-0.6 percent) and education and communication (-0.1 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.1 percent. Components contributing to the increase included recreation (4.8 percent) and shelter (3.6 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price declines in apparel (-2.0 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-0.9 percent).

The May 2019 Consumer Price Index for the Urban Hawaii area is scheduled to be released on June 12, 2019.

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 89 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 28 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 6,000 housing units and approximately 24,000 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/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-
	Jan. 2019	Feb. 2019	Mar. 2019	Mar. 2018	Jan. 2019	Feb. 2019
Expenditure category
All items	279.005	-	280.263	1.8	0.5	-
All items (1967=100)	768.094	-	771.555	-	-	-
Food and beverages	288.104	-	286.936	1.3	-0.4	-
Food	289.097	-	287.753	1.3	-0.5	-
Food at home	278.139	276.291	274.797	-1.0	-1.2	-0.5
Cereals and bakery products	304.412	-	299.666	-1.0	-1.6	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	255.682	-	257.361	-4.3	0.7	-
Dairy and related products	235.859	-	236.691	3.4	0.4	-
Fruits and vegetables	345.824	-	339.489	1.4	-1.8	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	342.245	-	349.583	1.1	2.1	-
Other food at home	271.906	-	259.828	-2.1	-4.4	-
Food away from home	294.526	-	295.412	3.8	0.3	-
Food away from home	294.526	-	295.412	3.8	0.3	-
Alcoholic beverages	269.378	-	271.570	1.7	0.8	-
Housing	305.530	-	305.967	3.2	0.1	-
Shelter	332.482	333.127	334.174	3.6	0.5	0.3
Rent of primary residence(2)	322.482	323.321	324.331	2.3	0.6	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)	345.435	346.620	348.903	4.1	1.0	0.7
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)	345.435	346.620	348.903	4.1	1.0	0.7
Fuels and utilities	370.950	-	361.361	3.1	-2.6	-
Household energy	301.339	276.480	289.566	2.3	-3.9	4.7
Energy services	296.461	271.654	284.639	2.4	-4.0	4.8
Electricity	294.389	268.795	281.895	1.6	-4.2	4.9
Utility (piped) gas service	280.539	279.545	287.031	23.9	2.3	2.7
Household furnishings and operations	146.952	-	146.080	-0.9	-0.6	-
Apparel	106.928	-	113.199	-2.0	5.9	-
Transportation	218.016	-	222.641	-2.4	2.1	-
Private transportation	217.070	-	221.038	-2.4	1.8	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	104.092	-	104.748	-5.6	0.6	-
New vehicles(1)	165.484	-	166.627	-5.4	0.7	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	240.766	-	243.060	0.0	1.0	-
Motor fuel	236.727	240.103	247.653	-3.3	4.6	3.1
Gasoline (all types)	242.734	246.294	254.081	-3.3	4.7	3.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	253.044	256.825	265.267	-3.5	4.8	3.3
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	205.439	205.439	209.658	-2.3	2.1	2.1
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	223.076	226.647	232.689	-2.2	4.3	2.7
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	489.593	-	489.602	1.2	0.0	-
Medical care	-	-	-	-	-	-
Recreation(3)	131.960	-	132.785	4.8	0.6	-
Education and communication(3)	143.609	-	143.400	1.9	-0.1	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,752.584	-	1,752.585	5.8	0.0	-
Other goods and services	501.811	-	500.460	0.2	-0.3	-
Commodity and service group
All items	279.005	-	280.263	1.8	0.5	-
Commodities	203.363	-	204.671	-0.9	0.6	-
Commodities less food & beverages	152.613	-	155.058	-2.7	1.6	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	189.613	-	194.221	-3.0	2.4	-
Durables	111.300	-	111.848	-2.3	0.5	-
Services	345.002	-	346.223	3.1	0.4	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	271.384	-	272.680	1.8	0.5	-
All items less shelter	255.697	-	256.748	0.6	0.4	-
Commodities less food	156.838	-	159.301	-2.6	1.6	-
Nondurables	240.521	-	242.172	-0.4	0.7	-
Nondurables less food	194.423	-	198.930	-2.7	2.3	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	359.382	-	359.798	2.5	0.1	-
Services less medical care services	337.165	-	338.252	3.2	0.3	-
Energy	262.608	254.019	263.864	-0.7	0.5	3.9
All items less energy	281.814	-	283.078	1.9	0.4	-
All items less food and energy	282.323	-	284.089	2.1	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.