The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Northeast increased 0.4 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Frank Waligorski noted that the recent increase reflected a rise in the energy index (4.0 percent) and the all items less food and energy index (0.2 percent) since December. The food index also increased over the month, up 0.2 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 1.1 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) This reflected an advance in the all items less food and energy index, up 1.1 percent. The food index also rose, up 3.5 percent, while the energy index fell 3.3 percent since January 2020. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index edged up 0.2 percent since December. Prices were higher for both food away from home and food at home, up 0.4 and 0.1 percent, respectively.

From January 2020 to January 2021, the food index increased 3.5 percent. Prices for food away from home increased over the year, up 4.3 percent; those for food at home also rose, up 2.9 percent.

Energy

The energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, rose 4.0 percent in January, led by a 7.0-percent advance in gasoline prices. Prices were also higher for electricity (1.6 percent) and utility (piped) gas service (1.1 percent) over the month.

The energy index fell 3.3 percent since January 2020. The decrease reflected a drop in prices for gasoline (-7.5 percent). Prices for electricity and for utility (piped) gas service rose over the year, up 2.4 and 2.2 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.2 percent over the month. Price increases for apparel (6.4 percent), medical care (0.5 percent), and household furnishings and operations (0.6 percent) were moderated by lower prices for recreation (-0.9 percent) and other goods and services (-0.8 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.1 percent since January 2020, led by higher prices for shelter (1.3 percent), particularly those for owners’ equivalent rent of residences (1.8 percent). Prices also increased for used cars and trucks (9.9 percent) over the year.

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

Month	2017		2018		2019		2020		2021
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.6	2.5	0.5	1.6	0.3	1.5	0.7	2.3	0.4	1.1
February	0.3	2.6	0.4	1.7	0.2	1.3	0.3	2.4
March	-0.1	2.2	0.1	2.0	0.5	1.7	-02	1.7
April	0.3	1.9	0.4	2.1	0.4	1.7	-0.4	0.8
May	0.1	1.7	0.4	2.5	0.3	1.5	0.0	0.6
June	0.0	1.5	0.0	2.6	0.1	1.6	0.3	0.8
July	-0.2	1.3	0.0	2.7	0.1	1.7	0.4	1.1
August	0.3	1.6	0.2	2.7	0.1	1.5	0.1	1.1
September	0.5	1.9	0.1	2.2	0.0	1.4	0.1	1.2
October	-0.1	1.5	-0.1	2.3	-0.1	1.5	-0.2	1.1
November	0.0	1.6	-0.4	1.9	0.1	1.9	0.1	1.1
December	0.1	1.7	-0.1	1.7	-0.1	1.9	0.2	1.4

Geographic divisions

Additional price indexes are now available for the two divisions of the Northeast. Over the month, the all items CPI-U increased in the New England division, up 0.5 percent, and the Middle Atlantic division, up 0.4 percent.

Over the year, prices rose in the Middle Atlantic division, up 1.3 percent. The all items index also rose in the New England division (0.6 percent). (See table B.)

 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	0.4	1.1
New England Division	0.5	0.6
Middle Atlantic Division	0.4	1.3

The Consumer Price Index for February 2021 is scheduled to be released Wednesday, March 10, 2021, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

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 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	Nov. 2020	Dec. 2020	Jan. 2021	Jan. 2020	Nov. 2020	Dec. 2020
All items		273.543	274.225	275.427	1.1	0.7	0.4
All items (December 1977 = 100)		430.747	431.820	433.714
Food and beverages		274.106	276.114	276.544	3.5	0.9	0.2
Food		274.706	276.795	277.329	3.5	1.0	0.2
Food at home		258.979	260.581	260.725	2.9	0.7	0.1
Cereals and bakery products		304.567	307.198	305.756	1.6	0.4	-0.5
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		264.874	267.244	266.652	4.5	0.7	-0.2
Dairy and related products		237.381	238.650	241.290	2.6	1.6	1.1
Fruits and vegetables		326.677	327.624	327.414	3.4	0.2	-0.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		176.107	178.328	180.068	1.8	2.2	1.0
Other food at home		230.672	231.179	230.810	2.2	0.1	-0.2
Food away from home		301.705	304.570	305.716	4.3	1.3	0.4
Alcoholic beverages		265.376	266.296	265.307	3.1	0.0	-0.4
Housing		293.678	294.992	295.732	1.5	0.7	0.3
Shelter		367.346	367.393	367.500	1.3	0.0	0.0
Rent of primary residence		372.793	372.690	372.819	1.5	0.0	0.0
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)		382.354	382.169	382.489	1.8	0.0	0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)		382.014	381.840	382.164	1.8	0.0	0.1
Fuels and utilities		223.098	228.635	232.598	0.6	4.3	1.7
Household energy		194.052	199.844	203.821	-0.1	5.0	2.0
Energy services		198.393	202.564	205.451	2.4	3.6	1.4
Electricity		202.066	206.963	210.217	2.4	4.0	1.6
Utility (piped) gas service		176.489	178.959	180.929	2.2	2.5	1.1
Household furnishings and operations		122.361	124.738	125.433	4.5	2.5	0.6
Apparel		118.008	116.236	123.651	-0.5	4.8	6.4
Transportation		199.860	199.557	201.972	-1.8	1.1	1.2
Private transportation		193.422	194.078	197.348	-0.2	2.0	1.7
New and used motor vehicles(2)		99.684	98.922	98.971	3.7	-0.7	0.0
New vehicles		144.085	145.750	146.504	1.3	1.7	0.5
New cars and trucks(2)(3)		99.839	100.998	101.528	1.3	1.7	0.5
New cars(3)		134.498	135.738	136.581	1.7	1.5	0.6
Used cars and trucks		159.067	157.746	156.320	9.9	-1.7	-0.9
Motor fuel		187.602	194.536	208.047	-7.6	10.9	6.9
Gasoline (all types)		186.622	193.555	207.088	-7.5	11.0	7.0
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)		182.960	190.000	203.807	-7.8	11.4	7.3
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)		207.237	213.683	225.269	-6.1	8.7	5.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)		204.989	210.700	221.546	-5.6	8.1	5.1
Motor vehicle insurance(5)		592.578	594.559	597.820	-5.1	0.9	0.5
Medical care		546.128	544.695	547.280	0.9	0.2	0.5
Medical care commodities		382.544	381.360	379.575	-4.2	-0.8	-0.5
Medical care services		594.004	592.502	596.446	2.0	0.4	0.7
Professional services		407.942	407.468	414.716	4.4	1.7	1.8
Recreation(2)		129.333	129.070	127.887	0.5	-1.1	-0.9
Education and communication(2)		148.692	148.572	148.860	1.2	0.1	0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)		1,310.250	1,310.454	1,311.106	1.3	0.1	0.0
Other goods and services		510.586	518.064	513.920	1.4	0.7	-0.8
Commodity and service group
Commodities		189.784	191.377	193.696	1.3	2.1	1.2
Commodities less food and beverages		146.166	147.512	150.477	-0.2	2.9	2.0
Nondurables less food and beverages		182.728	183.736	190.216	-3.1	4.1	3.5
Durables		103.044	104.450	104.661	3.7	1.6	0.2
Services		353.904	353.715	353.853	1.0	0.0	0.0
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		241.130	242.040	243.636	1.1	1.0	0.7
All items less medical care		261.522	262.300	263.441	1.2	0.7	0.4
Commodities less food		150.309	151.652	154.529	0.0	2.8	1.9
Nondurables		227.662	229.158	232.745	0.6	2.2	1.6
Nondurables less food		187.579	188.581	194.615	-2.6	3.8	3.2
Services less rent of shelter(1)		351.503	351.056	351.242	0.8	-0.1	0.1
Services less medical care services		337.361	337.263	337.139	0.9	-0.1	0.0
Energy		191.517	197.774	205.613	-3.3	7.4	4.0
All items less energy		284.498	284.681	285.295	1.4	0.3	0.2
All items less food and energy		288.047	287.893	288.524	1.1	0.2	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.