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 for the second consecutive month in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli said the rise reflected increases among all three broad categories—food, energy, and all other items. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the year, the CPI-U was up 1.0 percent. (See table A.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.6 percent. (See chart 1.) Higher prices for shelter drove the 12-month change in both indexes. (See table 1.)

 

Food

The food index advanced 0.2 percent in September following little change during the three prior months. Prices for food away from home rose 0.3 percent. Groceries with higher prices, including breakfast cereal, lettuce, and tomatoes, helped the food-at-home index inch up for the first time in four months.

From September 2015 to September 2016, the food index was unchanged; a 3.2-percent increase for away-from-home food prices was offset by a 2.4-percent decline in at-home food prices.

Energy

The energy index rose 0.6 percent over the month, following two consecutive declines. Gasoline prices increased 1.2 percent, and household energy edged up 0.2 percent. Within household energy, a price rise for fuel oil was tempered by a decline in the price for natural gas (-0.3 percent); the price for electricity was unchanged.

Over the year, energy prices dropped 3.5 percent, primarily due gasoline prices falling 6.8 percent. Household energy prices were also down, -1.4 percent, reflecting lower prices for both fuel oil and electricity; prices for natural gas rose 0.4 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy ticked up 0.1 percent in September. Apparel prices rose 2.6 percent, not uncommon at this time of year, with the introduction of fall and winter lines. Prices for medical care and for education and communication each increased 0.4 percent. In contrast, prices for shelter were unchanged. A 0.3-percent increase in residential rent and a 0.4-percent increase in owners’ equivalent rent were offset by a seasonal decline out-of-town lodging.

For the year ended in September 2016, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.6 percent, its slowest pace since last August. Shelter prices rose 2.5 percent, which included a 2.9-percent increase in residential rent and a 2.7-percent rise in owners’ equivalent rent. Prices for medical care climbed 5.8 percent, and prices for other goods and services increased 2.5 percent.

Table A. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes (not seasonally adjusted)

Month	2011		2012		2013		2014		2015		2016
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.3	1.5	0.4	2.8	0.5	2.2	0.9	1.9	0.1	-0.5	0.2	0.8
February	0.5	2.1	0.4	2.6	0.6	2.4	-0.2	1.1	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.6
March	0.7	2.3	0.6	2.6	0.1	1.9	0.4	1.3	0.2	-0.1	0.2	0.7
April	0.4	2.5	0.2	2.4	-0.2	1.4	0.0	1.6	0.1	0.0	0.4	1.0
May	0.6	2.9	0.1	1.8	0.1	1.4	0.5	1.9	0.4	-0.1	0.3	0.9
June	0.2	3.2	-0.1	1.6	0.3	1.8	0.0	1.7	0.2	0.1	0.2(R)	0.9(R)
July	0.3	3.3	-0.2	1.1	0.2	2.1	0.1	1.6	-0.1	-0.1	-0.1	1.0
August	0.4	3.5	0.6	1.4	0.1	1.7	-0.2	1.3	0.1	0.1	0.2	1.1
September	0.2	3.8	0.4	1.6	0.3	1.6	0.0	1.0	0.2	0.3	0.2	1.0
October	-0.2	3.3	-0.1	1.7	-0.6	1.1	-0.2	1.3	-0.1	0.4
November	-0.3	3.0	0.0	2.0	0.1	1.2	-0.4	0.8	-0.2	0.6
December	-0.4	2.7	-0.3	2.1	0.0	1.5	-0.5	0.3	-0.4	0.7
Footnotes: (R) = revised. See box note for additional information.

CPI-W

In September, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 259.059, up 0.3 percent over the month. The CPI-W rose 1.0 percent over the year.

The October 2016 Consumer Price Index for New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island is scheduled to be released Thursday, November 17, 2016, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

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 approximately 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/pdf/homch17.pdf.

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.

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