Prices in the Honolulu area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.9 percent for the two months ending in January 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the January increase was influenced by higher prices for all items less food and energy. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 6.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.9 percent over the year. Energy prices jumped 32.3 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. Food prices rose 8.4 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 2.2 percent for the two months ending in January. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home increased 2.8 percent, and prices for food away from home advanced 1.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 8.4 percent. Prices for food at home increased 9.9 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home increased 6.3 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 1.6 percent for the two months ending in January. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for electricity (4.3 percent). Prices for natural gas service declined 0.3 percent, and prices for gasoline decreased 0.6 percent for the same period.

Energy prices jumped 32.3 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (39.5 percent). Prices paid for electricity jumped 23.6 percent, and prices for natural gas service jumped 23.4 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.6 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for household furnishings and operations (4.7 percent) and used cars and trucks (4.7 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for other goods and services (-1.7 percent) and recreation (-1.0 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.9 percent. Components contributing to the increase included new and used motor vehicles (14.5 percent) and shelter (2.9 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in apparel (-3.7 percent).

Table A. Urban Hawaii CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2019		2020		2021		2022
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
January	-0.2	1.9	0.5	1.7	0.3	1.4	0.9	6.0
March	0.5	1.8	0.6	1.8	0.9	1.8
May	0.7	2.1	0.2	1.3	2.1	3.8
July	-0.1	1.6	0.0	1.3	0.8	4.6
September	0.1	1.1	0.6	1.9	1.0	5.0
November	0.1	0.9	-0.2	1.6	0.1	5.4

The March 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Honolulu area is scheduled to be released on April 12, 2022

Technical Note

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	Nov. 2021	Dec. 2021	Jan. 2022	Jan. 2021	Nov. 2021	Dec. 2021
Expenditure category
All items		302.332	-	304.988	6.0	0.9	-
All items (1967=100)		832.313	-	839.625	-	-	-
Food and beverages		322.266	-	329.071	8.1	2.1	-
Food		322.969	-	330.202	8.4	2.2	-
Food at home		320.318	318.007	329.219	9.9	2.8	3.5
Cereals and bakery products		346.475	-	367.859	9.1	6.2	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		331.570	-	339.368	22.0	2.4	-
Dairy and related products		239.637	-	255.977	1.1	6.8	-
Fruits and vegetables		387.777	-	380.380	0.5	-1.9	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		434.937	-	444.774	14.9	2.3	-
Other food at home		286.775	-	300.203	7.5	4.7	-
Food away from home		317.230	-	321.251	6.3	1.3	-
Alcoholic beverages		309.188	-	308.860	3.9	-0.1	-
Housing		325.964	-	328.557	4.1	0.8	-
Shelter		355.723	355.812	356.743	2.9	0.3	0.3
Rent of primary residence(2)		349.931	350.840	353.026	3.2	0.9	0.6
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		364.644	364.685	366.327	2.5	0.5	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		364.644	364.685	366.327	2.5	0.5	0.5
Fuels and utilities		393.231	-	403.743	14.4	2.7	-
Household energy		314.365	316.197	327.542	23.9	4.2	3.6
Energy services		308.172	309.857	320.826	23.6	4.1	3.5
Electricity		303.982	306.375	317.110	23.6	4.3	3.5
Utility (piped) gas service		339.047	324.002	337.885	23.4	-0.3	4.3
Household furnishings and operations		152.792	-	159.911	5.6	4.7	-
Apparel		107.158	-	107.499	-3.7	0.3	-
Transportation		250.251	-	251.521	16.4	0.5	-
Private transportation		259.371	-	261.760	19.3	0.9	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		119.712	-	120.367	14.5	0.5	-
New vehicles(1)		177.516	-	176.084	5.8	-0.8	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		339.035	-	354.986	38.4	4.7	-
Motor fuel		340.080	337.400	338.191	39.5	-0.6	0.2
Gasoline (all types)		349.092	346.334	347.149	39.5	-0.6	0.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		361.958	358.972	359.916	40.1	-0.6	0.3
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		290.191	288.717	288.766	33.0	-0.5	0.0
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		329.284	327.017	327.447	38.0	-0.6	0.1
Medical care		447.994	-	-	-	-	-
Recreation(3)		143.535	-	142.055	7.6	-1.0	-
Education and communication(3)		151.313	-	151.111	1.3	-0.1	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,877.829	-	1,877.829	3.7	0.0	-
Other goods and services		533.757	-	524.439	2.1	-1.7	-
Commodity and service group
All items		302.332	-	304.988	6.0	0.9	-
Commodities		228.838	-	232.199	10.7	1.5	-
Commodities less food & beverages		172.405	-	174.085	13.6	1.0	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		216.627	-	216.630	14.1	0.0	-
Durables		123.731	-	126.395	12.8	2.2	-
Services		366.651	-	368.869	3.7	0.6	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		294.469	-	296.644	6.0	0.7	-
All items less shelter		279.555	-	283.230	8.3	1.3	-
Commodities less food		177.345	-	178.983	13.1	0.9	-
Nondurables		271.638	-	275.209	10.2	1.3	-
Nondurables less food		222.386	-	222.374	13.1	0.0	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)		378.014	-	382.220	5.1	1.1	-
Services less medical care services		358.066	-	359.443	3.7	0.4	-
Energy		326.368	325.712	331.641	32.3	1.6	1.8
All items less energy		302.767	-	305.265	4.7	0.8	-
All items less food and energy		300.795	-	302.582	3.9	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.