The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Northeast was unchanged in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that while there was an increase in the all items less food and energy index (0.2 percent), the energy index decreased over the month, down 1.6 percent. The food index also decreased since August, down 0.1 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the Northeast all items CPI-U increased 1.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) This was due almost entirely to an advance in the all items less food and energy index, up 2.3 percent. The food index also rose, up 1.2 percent since September 2018, while the energy index declined 6.3 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index inched down 0.1 percent since August. Prices for food at home were down 0.3 percent, while those for food away from home edged up 0.2 percent.

From September 2018 to September 2019, the food index increased 1.2 percent. Prices for food away from home increased over the year, up 3.1 percent, while those for food at home declined 0.3 percent.

Energy

The energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, declined 1.6 percent in September, due almost entirely to lower gasoline prices, down 3.3 percent. Prices were also lower for utility (piped) gas service (-1.1 percent) while those for electricity were higher (0.1 percent).

The energy index decreased 6.3 percent since September 2018. The decline reflected lower prices for gasoline (-10.0 percent), electricity (-2.4 percent), and utility (piped) gas service (-2.1 percent) over the year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.2 percent over the month. Higher prices for apparel (3.5 percent) and shelter (0.2 percent) were moderated by declines for new and used motor vehicles (-1.7 percent) and recreation (-1.4 percent), among others.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.3 percent since September 2018, led by higher prices for shelter, up 2.5 percent. Prices also rose over the year for medical care (4.9 percent) and education and communication (2.5 percent), among others.

Table A. Northeast region CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2015		2016		2017		2018		2019
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	-0.2	-0.4	0.0	0.7	0.6	2.5	0.5	1.6	0.3	1.5
February	0.2	-0.2	0.2	0.7	0.3	2.6	0.4	1.7	0.2	1.3
March	0.3	-0.4	0.2	0.6	-0.1	2.2	0.1	2.0	0.5	1.7
April	0.1	-0.3	0.6	1.0	0.3	1.9	0.4	2.1	0.4	1.7
May	0.4	-0.3	0.3	0.9	0.1	1.7	0.4	2.5	0.3	1.5
June	0.3	0.0	0.2	0.7	0.0	1.5	0.0	2.6	0.1	1.6
July	-0.1	-0.2	0.0	0.8	-0.2	1.3	0.0	2.7	0.1	1.7
August	-0.2	-0.1	0.1	1.0	0.3	1.6	0.2	2.7	0.1	1.5
September	0.0	-0.1	0.2	1.3	0.5	1.9	0.1	2.2	0.0	1.4
October	-0.2	-0.1	0.2	1.6	-0.1	1.5	-0.1	2.3
November	0.0	0.3	0.0	1.6	0.0	1.6	-0.4	1.9
December	-0.4	0.5	0.0	1.9	0.1	1.7	-0.1	1.7

Geographic divisions

Additional price indexes are now available for the two divisions of the Northeast. Over the month, the all items CPI-U edged up 0.2 percent in the New England division, while declining 0.1 percent in the Middle Atlantic division.

Over the year, the all items index advanced 1.8 percent in the New England division. (See table B.) Prices also rose in the Middle Atlantic division, up 1.3 percent.

 Table B. CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, Northeast region and divisions, not seasonally adjusted

Area	1-month change	12-month change
Northeast	0.0	1.4
New England Division	0.2	1.8
Middle Atlantic Division	-0.1	1.3

The Consumer Price Index for October 2019 is scheduled to be released Wednesday, November 13, 2019, 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 Northeast region is comprised of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The New England division is comprised of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The Middle Atlantic division is comprised of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

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, Northeast Region, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from
	Historical data	Jul. 2019	Aug. 2019	Sep. 2019	Sep. 2018	Jul. 2019	Aug. 2019
All items		270.381	270.548	270.563	1.4	0.1	0.0
All items (December 1977 = 100)		425.767	426.030	426.053
Food and beverages		263.657	264.398	264.364	1.1	0.3	0.0
Food		264.282	265.040	264.884	1.2	0.2	-0.1
Food at home		250.175	250.784	250.048	-0.3	-0.1	-0.3
Cereals and bakery products		296.600	301.038	296.708	-0.3	0.0	-1.4
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		252.380	250.926	251.040	-0.5	-0.5	0.0
Dairy and related products		228.844	228.880	231.171	1.2	1.0	1.0
Fruits and vegetables		312.912	310.602	308.132	-2.2	-1.5	-0.8
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		175.045	176.897	177.425	1.4	1.4	0.3
Other food at home		223.386	225.010	224.071	-0.1	0.3	-0.4
Food away from home		288.751	289.738	290.422	3.1	0.6	0.2
Alcoholic beverages		254.608	255.136	256.592	0.1	0.8	0.6
Housing		288.869	288.578	289.142	1.8	0.1	0.2
Shelter		359.887	360.222	361.023	2.5	0.3	0.2
Rent of primary residence		362.099	363.327	364.306	3.2	0.6	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)		369.958	371.150	372.187	2.3	0.6	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)		369.656	370.844	371.881	2.3	0.6	0.3
Fuels and utilities		225.985	224.096	223.836	-2.2	-1.0	-0.1
Household energy		198.572	196.855	196.550	-3.1	-1.0	-0.2
Energy services		196.140	194.676	194.092	-2.3	-1.0	-0.3
Electricity		203.907	201.494	201.717	-2.4	-1.1	0.1
Utility (piped) gas service		168.209	168.411	166.552	-2.1	-1.0	-1.1
Household furnishings and operations		121.195	119.941	120.344	0.5	-0.7	0.3
Apparel		126.511	128.731	133.298	-0.2	5.4	3.5
Transportation		210.070	208.236	205.461	-1.6	-2.2	-1.3
Private transportation		202.161	200.355	197.262	-2.2	-2.4	-1.5
New and used motor vehicles(2)		97.511	97.267	95.594	0.7	-2.0	-1.7
New vehicles		145.271	143.365	142.589	-0.2	-1.8	-0.5
New cars and trucks(2)(3)		100.688	99.368	98.833	-0.2	-1.8	-0.5
New cars(3)		134.019	132.525	131.742	-1.1	-1.7	-0.6
Used cars and trucks		149.210	150.275	144.821	2.9	-2.9	-3.6
Motor fuel		239.743	232.861	225.375	-9.9	-6.0	-3.2
Gasoline (all types)		238.722	231.814	224.264	-10.0	-6.1	-3.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)		236.158	228.994	221.232	-10.4	-6.3	-3.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)		252.455	247.018	241.042	-8.2	-4.5	-2.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)		246.585	241.819	236.103	-7.3	-4.3	-2.4
Motor vehicle insurance(5)		620.674	620.674	620.671	0.3	0.0	0.0
Medical care		526.016	528.447	531.412	4.9	1.0	0.6
Medical care commodities		404.997	409.247	403.746	3.4	-0.3	-1.3
Medical care services		560.760	562.622	568.174	5.3	1.3	1.0
Professional services		394.032	393.389	398.975	3.7	1.3	1.4
Recreation(2)		126.962	127.197	125.380	1.1	-1.2	-1.4
Education and communication(2)		143.618	145.094	145.964	2.5	1.6	0.6
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)		1,258.407	1,276.125	1,289.058	3.9	2.4	1.0
Other goods and services		499.857	502.699	502.159	2.7	0.5	-0.1
Commodity and service group
Commodities		192.355	192.100	191.429	-0.5	-0.5	-0.3
Commodities less food and beverages		153.777	153.149	152.269	-1.5	-1.0	-0.6
Nondurables less food and beverages		199.845	199.319	198.855	-2.5	-0.5	-0.2
Durables		103.196	102.550	101.433	0.1	-1.7	-1.1
Services		345.471	346.016	346.636	2.4	0.3	0.2
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		239.495	239.601	239.324	0.9	-0.1	-0.1
All items less medical care		259.133	259.196	259.075	1.1	0.0	0.0
Commodities less food		157.454	156.855	156.038	-1.4	-0.9	-0.5
Nondurables		231.770	231.824	231.553	-0.6	-0.1	-0.1
Nondurables less food		203.026	202.563	202.215	-2.3	-0.4	-0.2
Services less rent of shelter(1)		341.788	342.571	343.012	2.3	0.4	0.1
Services less medical care services		330.634	331.088	331.370	2.1	0.2	0.1
Energy		215.570	211.696	208.392	-6.3	-3.3	-1.6
All items less energy		278.737	279.332	279.697	2.1	0.3	0.1
All items less food and energy		283.058	283.631	284.084	2.3	0.4	0.2
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.