The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Northeast increased 0.4 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Frank Waligorski noted that the recent increase reflected advances in the energy index (4.0 percent) and the all items less food and energy index (0.3 percent) since January. The food index declined over the month, down 0.5 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 1.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) This reflected an advance in the all items less food and energy index, up 0.8 percent. The energy index and the food index also rose since February 2020, up 3.0 and 2.9 percent, respectively. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index decreased 0.5 percent since January. Prices were lower for both food at home and food away from home, down 0.5 and 0.4 percent, respectively.

From February 2020 to February 2021, the food index increased 2.9 percent. Prices for food away from home increased over the year, up 3.7 percent; those for food at home also rose, up 2.4 percent.

Energy

The energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, rose 4.0 percent in February, led by a 6.7-percent advance in gasoline prices. Prices were also higher for electricity (1.0 percent) and utility (piped) gas service (0.7 percent) over the month.

The energy index rose 3.0 percent since February 2020. The increase reflected a rise in prices for electricity (3.5 percent). Prices for gasoline and utility (piped) gas service also advanced over the year, up 2.6 and 4.1 percent, respectively.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.3 percent since January. Over-the-month price increases were led by shelter (0.2 percent), apparel (1.5 percent), and medical care (0.5 percent), while prices for other goods and services edged down 0.1 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.8 percent since February 2020, led by higher prices for shelter (1.0 percent), particularly those for owners’ equivalent rent of residences (1.6 percent). Prices also increased for used cars and trucks (9.2 percent), education and communication (1.4 percent), and medical care (1.0 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	0.4	1.2
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 Middle Atlantic division, up 0.4 percent, and the New England division, up 0.3 percent.

Over the year, prices rose in the Middle Atlantic division, up 1.4 percent. The all items index also rose in the New England division (0.7 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	1.2
New England Division	0.3	0.7
Middle Atlantic Division	0.4	1.4

The Consumer Price Index for March 2021 is scheduled to be released Tuesday, April 13, 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	Dec. 2020	Jan. 2021	Feb. 2021	Feb. 2020	Dec. 2020	Jan. 2021
All items		274.225	275.427	276.473	1.2	0.8	0.4
All items (December 1977 = 100)		431.820	433.714	435.361
Food and beverages		276.114	276.544	275.338	2.9	-0.3	-0.4
Food		276.795	277.329	276.024	2.9	-0.3	-0.5
Food at home		260.581	260.725	259.405	2.4	-0.5	-0.5
Cereals and bakery products		307.198	305.756	305.845	2.0	-0.4	0.0
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		267.244	266.652	264.981	3.9	-0.8	-0.6
Dairy and related products		238.650	241.290	239.434	1.1	0.3	-0.8
Fruits and vegetables		327.624	327.414	323.135	3.1	-1.4	-1.3
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		178.328	180.068	180.307	0.8	1.1	0.1
Other food at home		231.179	230.810	230.211	1.8	-0.4	-0.3
Food away from home		304.570	305.716	304.423	3.7	0.0	-0.4
Alcoholic beverages		266.296	265.307	265.449	2.5	-0.3	0.1
Housing		294.992	295.732	296.629	1.6	0.6	0.3
Shelter		367.393	367.500	368.060	1.0	0.2	0.2
Rent of primary residence		372.690	372.819	373.037	1.5	0.1	0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)		382.169	382.489	382.844	1.6	0.2	0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)		381.840	382.164	382.520	1.6	0.2	0.1
Fuels and utilities		228.635	232.598	236.725	3.5	3.5	1.8
Household energy		199.844	203.821	207.974	3.4	4.1	2.0
Energy services		202.564	205.451	207.387	3.7	2.4	0.9
Electricity		206.963	210.217	212.415	3.5	2.6	1.0
Utility (piped) gas service		178.959	180.929	182.220	4.1	1.8	0.7
Household furnishings and operations		124.738	125.433	125.504	4.4	0.6	0.1
Apparel		116.236	123.651	125.518	-4.0	8.0	1.5
Transportation		199.557	201.972	204.854	-0.2	2.7	1.4
Private transportation		194.078	197.348	200.630	2.0	3.4	1.7
New and used motor vehicles(2)		98.922	98.971	99.098	3.3	0.2	0.1
New vehicles		145.750	146.504	145.605	0.2	-0.1	-0.6
New cars and trucks(2)(3)		100.998	101.528	100.909	0.2	-0.1	-0.6
New cars(3)		135.738	136.581	137.258	1.6	1.1	0.5
Used cars and trucks		157.746	156.320	157.018	9.2	-0.5	0.4
Motor fuel		194.536	208.047	222.021	2.5	14.1	6.7
Gasoline (all types)		193.555	207.088	221.060	2.6	14.2	6.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)		190.000	203.807	218.055	2.7	14.8	7.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)		213.683	225.269	237.307	1.9	11.1	5.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)		210.700	221.546	232.903	1.9	10.5	5.1
Motor vehicle insurance(5)		594.559	597.820	603.610	-5.0	1.5	1.0
Medical care		544.695	547.280	549.824	1.0	0.9	0.5
Medical care commodities		381.360	379.575	378.260	-4.6	-0.8	-0.3
Medical care services		592.502	596.446	600.187	2.1	1.3	0.6
Professional services		407.468	414.716	417.577	4.7	2.5	0.7
Recreation(2)		129.070	127.887	128.468	1.0	-0.5	0.5
Education and communication(2)		148.572	148.860	149.138	1.4	0.4	0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)		1,310.454	1,311.106	1,310.643	0.8	0.0	0.0
Other goods and services		518.064	513.920	513.550	0.9	-0.9	-0.1
Commodity and service group
Commodities		191.377	193.696	194.769	1.8	1.8	0.6
Commodities less food and beverages		147.512	150.477	152.419	1.0	3.3	1.3
Nondurables less food and beverages		183.736	190.216	194.410	-0.8	5.8	2.2
Durables		104.450	104.661	104.831	3.2	0.4	0.2
Services		353.715	353.853	354.874	1.0	0.3	0.3
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		242.040	243.636	244.859	1.4	1.2	0.5
All items less medical care		262.300	263.441	264.420	1.3	0.8	0.4
Commodities less food		151.652	154.529	156.434	1.0	3.2	1.2
Nondurables		229.158	232.745	234.350	1.3	2.3	0.7
Nondurables less food		188.581	194.615	198.566	-0.5	5.3	2.0
Services less rent of shelter(1)		351.056	351.242	352.782	0.9	0.5	0.4
Services less medical care services		337.263	337.139	337.972	0.8	0.2	0.2
Energy		197.774	205.613	213.744	3.0	8.1	4.0
All items less energy		284.681	285.295	285.709	1.1	0.4	0.1
All items less food and energy		287.893	288.524	289.246	0.8	0.5	0.3
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.