The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington rose 1.0 percent from December to February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Sheila Watkins noted that the recent two-month increase was due almost entirely to a 1.2-percent advance in the all items less food and energy index. The food index also increase since December, up 1.0 percent, while the energy index declined 2.0 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 CPI-U increased 2.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The over-the-year rise was led by an increase in the all items less food and energy index (2.8 percent). The food index advanced since February 2019, up 2.8 percent, while the energy index decreased, down 0.6 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index increased 1.0 percent over the last two months. Prices for food at home increased since December, up 1.5 percent, and those for food away from home rose 0.4 percent.

Over the year, the food index increased 2.8 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 3.5 percent, and those for food at home were up 2.4 percent.

Energy

The energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, decreased 2.0 percent since December. The two-month decline was led by a 3.1-percent decrease in gasoline prices. Prices were also lower for utility (piped) gas service, down 2.1 percent, while those for electricity increased, up 0.3 percent.

Over the year, the energy index decreased 0.6 percent, due to lower utility (piped) gas service prices, down 5.2 percent. Prices were also lower for electricity, down 0.9 percent. Gasoline prices advanced since February 2019, up 3.3 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.2 percent from December to February. Prices were higher for shelter (1.5 percent) and apparel (12.1 percent) while prices were lower for new and used motor vehicles (-0.4 percent) and education and communication (-0.3 percent).

Since February 2019, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.8 percent. Prices were higher for a number of items including shelter (3.1 percent), recreation (5.2 percent), and medical care (2.9 percent), among others.

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

Month	2016		2017		2018		2019		2020
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	0.3	0.3	0.7	2.1	0.4	0.5	0.8	1.5	1.0	2.6
April	0.9	0.6	0.0	1.3	0.9	1.4	1.3	1.9
June	0.3	0.1	-0.3	0.7	0.2	1.9	0.5	2.1
August	-0.2	0.4	0.5	1.4	0.3	1.7	0.5	2.3
October	0.6	1.3	0.0	0.8	0.0	1.6	-0.4	1.9
December	-0.1	1.7	-0.1	0.8	-0.7	1.0	-0.3	2.4

The Consumer Price Index for April 2020 is scheduled to be released Tuesday, May 12, 2020 at 8:30 am (ET).

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index for Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington is published bi-monthly. 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, Core Based Statistical Area includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania; Burlington, Camden, 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: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from
	Historical data	Dec. 2019	Jan. 2020	Feb. 2020	Feb. 2019	Dec. 2019	Jan. 2020
All items		257.194		259.694	2.6	1.0
All items (1967 = 100)		743.021		750.243
Food and beverages		239.228		241.721	2.8	1.0
Food		239.966		242.456	2.8	1.0
Food at home		240.901	243.941	244.607	2.4	1.5	0.3
Cereals and bakery products		306.200		307.863	1.1	0.5
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		266.525		273.584	5.8	2.6
Dairy and related products		207.769		207.872	6.5	0.0
Fruits and vegetables		270.041		270.196	-3.2	0.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		160.379		165.201	4.0	3.0
Other food at home		218.616		223.455	2.2	2.2
Food away from home		232.978		233.956	3.5	0.4
Alcoholic beverages		226.047		228.575	2.8	1.1
Housing		267.269		270.445	2.3	1.2
Shelter		334.247	336.385	339.116	3.1	1.5	0.8
Rent of primary residence		314.234	314.851	315.622	3.0	0.4	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)		345.494	345.899	346.809	2.8	0.4	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)		345.494	345.899	346.809	2.8	0.4	0.3
Fuels and utilities		210.069		210.237	-1.0	0.1
Household energy		171.353	171.496	169.575	-3.5	-1.0	-1.1
Energy services		180.700	179.885	179.912	-2.4	-0.4	0.0
Electricity		179.659	179.268	180.168	-0.9	0.3	0.5
Utility (piped) gas service		170.917	169.252	167.409	-5.2	-2.1	-1.1
Household furnishings and operations		114.433		114.859	-0.3	0.4
Apparel		100.005		112.123	7.8	12.1
Transportation		211.268		210.335	1.5	-0.4
Private transportation		210.567		208.996	1.2	-0.7
New and used motor vehicles(3)		98.294		97.894	-0.9	-0.4
New vehicles(1)		177.892		177.997	-1.1	0.1
Used cars and trucks(1)		254.010		255.120	-0.6	0.4
Motor fuel		239.041	242.629	231.383	3.0	-3.2	-4.6
Gasoline (all types)		235.519	239.095	228.129	3.3	-3.1	-4.6
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		232.345	235.962	224.925	3.4	-3.2	-4.7
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		243.310	246.581	235.886	3.6	-3.1	-4.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		238.756	241.751	232.245	2.6	-2.7	-3.9
Motor vehicle insurance(1)		728.581		741.786	2.0	1.8
Medical care		550.507		554.549	2.9	0.7
Recreation(3)		126.350		126.383	5.2	0.0
Education and communication(3)		133.598		133.173	1.4	-0.3
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,052.538		1,055.951	1.7	0.3
Other goods and services		556.200		556.761	2.3	0.1
Commodity and service group
Commodities		179.655		181.622	2.2	1.1
Commodities less food and beverages		147.132		148.797	1.8	1.1
Nondurables less food and beverages		188.945		192.361	3.5	1.8
Durables		101.717		101.990	-0.5	0.3
Services		335.394		338.427	2.7	0.9
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		231.782		233.483	2.3	0.7
All items less medical care		244.794		247.229	2.5	1.0
Commodities less food		150.039		151.736	1.9	1.1
Nondurables		215.147		218.137	3.1	1.4
Nondurables less food		191.187		194.558	3.5	1.8
Services less rent of shelter(2)		344.066		345.203	2.3	0.3
Services less medical care services		319.347		322.199	2.6	0.9
Energy		195.740	197.133	191.830	-0.6	-2.0	-2.7
All items less energy		265.978		269.093	2.8	1.2
All items less food and energy		273.055		276.314	2.8	1.2
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.