The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City area inched down 0.1 percent from August to October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that lower prices for energy (-5.9 percent) were nearly offset by higher prices for all items less food and energy, up 0.5 percent since August. Food prices were also higher, edging up 0.3 percent over the last two months. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, two-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 1.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The rise was led by a 2.1-percent advance in the all items less food and energy index since October 2013. Prices for food also rose over the year, up 2.5 percent, while those for energy declined 4.0 percent. (See table 1.)

 

Food

Following a 0.4-percent rise from June to August, food prices edged up 0.3 percent over the last two months. Prices for both components of the food index—food at home and food away from home—also rose 0.3 percent each since August. Within the food at home component, price increases for items such as other fresh fruits and bread were moderated by several price declines including those for sugar and sweets.

Over the year, the food index increased 2.5 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 2.7 percent and those for food away from home rose 2.3 percent.

Energy

Due mainly to an 8.0-percent drop in gasoline prices over the last two months, the energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, fell 5.9 percent—the largest two-month decrease in over two years. Prices for electricity and utility (piped) gas service also declined since August, down 2.6 and 5.8 percent, respectively.

The energy index declined 4.0 percent since last October, due largely to lower prices for gasoline (-4.1 percent). Electricity and utility (piped) gas service prices also declined over the year, down 4.7 and 0.9 percent, respectively.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.5 percent from August to October, due largely to a 6.1-percent advance in apparel prices. Other goods and services prices also advanced, up 3.9 percent—the largest bimonthly increase for this index since April 2009. Partially offsetting these and other bimonthly advances were price declines for recreation (-0.6 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-0.4 percent), among others.

Over the last 12 months, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.1 percent. This was largely due to higher prices for shelter, particularly owners’ equivalent rent of residences (2.6 percent each). Prices also increased for medical care (3.3 percent) and other goods and services (7.1 percent). Moderating the over-the-year rise in the all items less food and energy group were lower prices for several indexes including that for household furnishings and operations, down 3.1 percent.

 

Table A. Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index (not seasonally adjusted)

Month	2009		2010		2011		2012		2013		2014
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	1.0	-0.3	0.8	2.8	1.3	1.9	0.7	2.2	0.7	1.8	0.5	1.0
April	0.6	-0.9	0.4	2.6	1.0	2.5	0.8	2.0	0.1	1.1	0.5	1.4
June	1.0	-2.0	0.3	1.9	0.6	2.8	-0.2	1.3	0.3	1.5	0.6	1.8
August	1.0	-1.0	0.2	1.1	0.7	3.4	0.9	1.4	0.5	1.1	0.0	1.3
October	-0.6	-0.1	0.0	1.7	-0.3	3.0	0.4	2.2	-0.4	0.3	-0.1	1.6
December	0.0	3.0	-0.2	1.4	-0.5	2.8	-0.9	1.8	0.1	1.2

The December 2014 Consumer Price Index for Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City is scheduled to be released January 16, 2015, 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 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 4,000 housing units and approximately 26,000 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/home.htm.

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 Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md., Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area, includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania; Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem Counties in New Jersey; New Castle County in Delaware; and Cecil County in Maryland.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service:  1-800-877-8339.

 

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods, Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Aug. 2014	Sep. 2014	Oct. 2014	Oct. 2013	Aug. 2014	Sep. 2014
All items	245.303	-	244.948	1.6	-0.1	-
Food and beverages	229.672	-	230.308	2.5	0.3	-
Food	229.181	-	229.906	2.5	0.3	-
Food at home	240.241	241.257	241.019	2.7	0.3	-0.1
Food away from home	209.054	-	209.695	2.3	0.3	-
Alcoholic beverages	233.371	-	232.860	2.5	-0.2	-
Housing	249.337	-	248.070	1.4	-0.5	-
Shelter	303.751	302.472	303.643	2.6	0.0	0.4
Rent of primary residence (1)	281.594	281.837	283.530	2.0	0.7	0.6
Owners' equivalent rent of residences (1) (2)	309.394	310.043	312.000	2.6	0.8	0.6
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence (1) (2)	309.394	310.043	312.000	2.6	0.8	0.6
Fuels and utilities	218.312	-	210.945	-2.3	-3.4	-
Household energy	186.850	181.382	179.706	-3.8	-3.8	-0.9
Energy services (1)	192.895	187.123	185.907	-3.6	-3.6	-0.6
Electricity (1)	193.855	191.966	188.734	-4.7	-2.6	-1.7
Utility (piped) gas service (1)	184.095	170.208	173.352	-0.9	-5.8	1.8
Household furnishings and operations	116.442	-	115.975	-3.1	-0.4	-
Apparel	110.000	-	116.676	-1.7	6.1	-
Transportation	221.429	-	215.991	0.6	-2.5	-
Private transportation	220.855	-	215.438	1.4	-2.5	-
Motor fuel	304.525	300.326	280.091	-4.2	-8.0	-6.7
Gasoline (all types)	300.305	296.169	276.177	-4.1	-8.0	-6.8
Gasoline, unleaded regular (3)	299.757	295.603	275.232	-4.2	-8.2	-6.9
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (3) (4)	295.860	292.368	274.731	-3.7	-7.1	-6.0
Gasoline, unleaded premium (3)	286.802	282.687	265.355	-3.8	-7.5	-6.1
Medical care	472.972	-	475.438	3.3	0.5	-
Recreation (5)	124.836	-	124.147	-0.1	-0.6	-
Education and communication (5)	132.464	-	133.642	1.2	0.9	-
Other goods and services	476.921	-	495.387	7.1	3.9	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	183.613	-	183.368	0.6	-0.1	-
Commodities less food and beverages	157.166	-	156.535	-0.6	-0.4	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	200.772	-	200.450	0.2	-0.2	-
Durables	108.057	-	107.112	-2.2	-0.9	-
Services	308.821	-	308.355	2.1	-0.2	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	235.677	-	235.214	1.4	-0.2	-
All items less shelter	227.018	-	226.554	1.0	-0.2	-
Commodities less food	159.939	-	159.310	-0.5	-0.4	-
Nondurables	216.953	-	217.076	1.3	0.1	-
Nondurables less food	202.676	-	202.343	0.4	-0.2	-
Services less rent of shelter (2)	321.307	-	320.391	1.5	-0.3	-
Services less medical care services	295.460	-	294.892	1.9	-0.2	-
Energy	230.176	225.173	216.672	-4.0	-5.9	-3.8
All items less energy	248.823	-	249.913	2.1	0.4	-
All items less food and energy	254.745	-	255.913	2.1	0.5	-
Footnotes (1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (2) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. - Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.