Prices in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.4 percent following a 0.3-percent increase in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli primarily attributed the rise to higher prices for energy. (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 increased 2.2 percent. The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.5 percent. (See table A and chart 1.) Price increases for shelter drove the 12-month change in both indexes. (See table 1.)

Food

Over the month, food prices inched up 0.1 percent, following a 0.7-percent increase in April. A 0.3-percent decline in prices for food at home largely offset a 0.7-percent advance in prices for food away from home. Among the grocery groups with lower prices in May were cereals and bakery products; nonalcoholic beverages (including carbonated drinks); and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs.

From May 2017 to May 2018, the food index increased 2.3 percent, with prices 3.5 percent higher for food away from home and 1.4 percent higher for food at home.

Energy

Energy prices rose 4.6 percent in May, after a 1.4-percent April increase. Gasoline prices climbed 7.2 percent, following a 5.1-percent jump during the previous month. Household energy price also rose (2.6 percent), in contrast to the category’s April decline. A 4.1-percent increase in prices for natural gas and a 3.0-percent rise in electricity charges contributed to the upturn.

Over the year, the energy index rose 11.0 percent. Gasoline prices in May were 20.4 percent higher than one year earlier, and prices for household energy were 4.9 percent higher. A 9.5-percent rise in natural gas prices contributed the most to the increase in the household energy component.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy ticked up 0.1 percent for the second consecutive month. Shelter prices edged up 0.2 percent, led by higher prices for lodging away from home. Residential rent inched up 0.1 percent. Outside of shelter, price increases were recorded for apparel (1.2 percent), for household furnishings and operations (1.1 percent), and for airline fares. Partially offsetting these increases were lower prices for recreation, medical care, and education and communication.

For the year ended in May 2018, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.5 percent. Shelter prices increased 2.4 percent, which included a 2.5-percent rise in owners’ equivalent rent and a 2.0-percent increase in residential rent. Prices for other goods and services rose 2.4 percent. Additional categories with price increases included medical care (2.2 percent) and apparel (1.1 percent).

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

Month	2013		2014		2015		2016		2017		2018
	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	0.5	2.2	0.9	1.9	0.1	-0.5	0.2	0.8	0.6	2.5	0.4	1.4
February	0.6	2.4	-0.2	1.1	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.6	0.3	2.6	0.5	1.7
March	0.1	1.9	0.4	1.3	0.2	-0.1	0.2	0.7	0.0	2.3	0.0	1.7
April	-0.2	1.4	0.0	1.6	0.1	0.0	0.4	1.0	0.1	2.0	0.3	1.9
May	0.1	1.4	0.5	1.9	0.4	-0.1	0.3	0.9	0.1	1.8	0.4	2.2
June	0.3	1.8	0.0	1.7	0.2	0.1	0.2(R)	0.9(R)	0.2	1.8
July	0.2	2.1	0.1	1.6	-0.1	-0.1	-0.1	1.0	-0.2	1.6
August	0.1	1.7	-0.2	1.3	0.1	0.1	0.2	1.1	0.2	1.7
September	0.3	1.6	0.0	1.0	0.2	0.3	0.2	1.0	0.5	2.1
October	-0.6	1.1	-0.2	1.3	-0.1	0.4	0.1	1.2	-0.2	1.8
November	0.1	1.2	-0.4	0.8	-0.2	0.6	0.2	1.6	-0.1	1.6
December	0.0	1.5	-0.5	0.3	-0.4	0.7	0.1	2.1	0.1	1.6
Footnotes: (R) = revised.

CPI-W

In May, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 268.986, up 0.4 percent over the month. The CPI-W rose 2.3 percent over the year.

The June 2018 Consumer Price Index for New York-Newark-Jersey City is scheduled to be released Thursday, July 12, 2018, 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 93 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 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 75 urban areas across the country from about 5,000 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 (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-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa., Core Based Statistical Area includes Bronx, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties in New York; Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, and Union Counties in New Jersey; and Pike County in Pennsylvania.

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