The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Northeast increased 1.0 percent in June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the recent increase was largely due to an identical rise in the all items less food and energy index, up 1.0 percent. The energy index and the food index also increased over the month, up 2.6 and 0.4 percent, respectively. (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 advanced 4.6 percent, the index’s largest over-the-year increase since September 2008. (See chart 1 and table A.) This reflected advances in the all items less food and energy index, up 3.9 percent, and the energy index, up 21.1 percent. The food index also rose since June 2020, up 1.7 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index increased 0.4 percent since May. Prices were higher for food at home, up 0.6 percent, as prices rose for items such as uncooked beef steaks and uncooked beef roasts. The food away from home index edged up 0.2 percent over the month.

From June 2020 to June 2021, the food index increased 1.7 percent. Prices for food away from home increased over the year, up 3.4 percent; those for food at home increased 0.5 percent.

Energy

The energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, rose 2.6 percent in June. Prices were higher for electricity (3.7 percent), gasoline (2.2 percent), and utility (piped) gas service (1.3 percent) over the month.

The energy index rose 21.1 percent since June 2020—the index’s largest over-the-year increase since September 2008. The increase was largely due to a jump in prices for gasoline (40.9 percent). Prices for utility (piped) gas service and electricity also advanced over the year, up 8.6 and 3.3 percent, respectively.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.0 percent since May. Prices were higher for new and used motor vehicles (6.8 percent), particularly those for used cars and trucks (11.0 percent), as well as for shelter (0.8 percent) led by lodging away from home (19.0 percent). Lower prices for medical care and apparel helped to moderate the overall rise, down 0.7 and 1.4 percent, respectively.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.9 percent since June 2020. Prices were higher for new and used motor vehicles (20.5 percent), particularly those for used cars and trucks (46.0 percent)⸺the index’s largest 12-month increase since it was first published in 1978. Prices also increased for shelter (2.2 percent), among other categories, while medical care declined, down 1.1 percent.

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	0.6	2.1
April	0.3	1.9	0.4	2.1	0.4	1.7	-0.4	0.8	0.7	3.3
May	0.1	1.7	0.4	2.5	0.3	1.5	0.0	0.6	0.6	3.9
June	0.0	1.5	0.0	2.6	0.1	1.6	0.3	0.8	1.0	4.6
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 1.1 percent, and the New England division, up 0.8 percent.

Over the year, prices rose in the Middle Atlantic division, up 4.8 percent. The all items index also rose in the New England division (4.0 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	1.0	4.6
New England Division	0.8	4.0
Middle Atlantic Division	1.1	4.8

The Consumer Price Index for July 2021 is scheduled to be released Wednesday, August 11, 2021, 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 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 individuals with sensory impairments 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	Apr. 2021	May 2021	Jun. 2021	Jun. 2020	Apr. 2021	May 2021
All items		280.234	281.858	284.741	4.6	1.6	1.0
All items (December 1977 = 100)		441.283	443.840	448.380
Food and beverages		278.408	279.003	280.344	1.8	0.7	0.5
Food		279.404	280.001	281.235	1.7	0.7	0.4
Food at home		262.195	263.165	264.804	0.5	1.0	0.6
Cereals and bakery products		309.941	311.155	311.423	-2.2	0.5	0.1
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		271.443	274.365	279.493	0.6	3.0	1.9
Dairy and related products		236.485	237.351	241.121	-0.4	2.0	1.6
Fruits and vegetables		326.498	326.659	327.151	2.8	0.2	0.2
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		180.578	180.186	180.734	0.2	0.1	0.3
Other food at home		232.722	233.182	232.778	0.7	0.0	-0.2
Food away from home		308.751	308.774	309.388	3.4	0.2	0.2
Alcoholic beverages		264.290	264.840	267.640	2.9	1.3	1.1
Housing		298.589	299.508	302.584	3.2	1.3	1.0
Shelter		370.994	372.283	375.342	2.2	1.2	0.8
Rent of primary residence		373.814	374.233	374.726	1.3	0.2	0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)		384.500	385.234	386.046	1.6	0.4	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)		384.169	384.901	385.713	1.6	0.4	0.2
Fuels and utilities		235.379	234.961	240.778	7.9	2.3	2.5
Household energy		206.020	205.596	211.595	8.5	2.7	2.9
Energy services		205.281	204.680	210.822	4.8	2.7	3.0
Electricity		209.376	211.641	219.525	3.3	4.8	3.7
Utility (piped) gas service		182.056	176.024	178.375	8.6	-2.0	1.3
Household furnishings and operations		126.519	127.112	128.661	6.5	1.7	1.2
Apparel		125.916	125.851	124.080	5.5	-1.5	-1.4
Transportation		216.319	223.359	231.271	19.4	6.9	3.5
Private transportation		212.347	217.664	226.435	20.3	6.6	4.0
New and used motor vehicles(2)		106.106	109.086	116.471	20.5	9.8	6.8
New vehicles		147.518	148.670	151.770	4.6	2.9	2.1
New cars and trucks(2)(3)		102.251	103.057	105.221	4.6	2.9	2.1
New cars(3)		138.243	139.018	141.661	4.9	2.5	1.9
Used cars and trucks		176.132	187.664	208.303	46.0	18.3	11.0
Motor fuel		242.832	254.310	259.857	40.6	7.0	2.2
Gasoline (all types)		241.857	253.372	258.909	40.9	7.1	2.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)		238.981	250.753	256.252	42.2	7.2	2.2
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)		258.571	268.777	274.820	34.9	6.3	2.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)		251.661	260.774	266.320	32.2	5.8	2.1
Motor vehicle insurance(5)		609.564	609.561	612.063	8.6	0.4	0.4
Medical care		550.365	550.360	546.769	-1.1	-0.7	-0.7
Medical care commodities		378.807	380.928	378.829	-3.6	0.0	-0.6
Medical care services		600.724	600.049	596.012	-0.6	-0.8	-0.7
Professional services		418.685	419.865	418.971	2.8	0.1	-0.2
Recreation(2)		129.835	129.162	130.720	1.6	0.7	1.2
Education and communication(2)		149.478	149.607	150.022	2.3	0.4	0.3
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)		1,311.727	1,314.677	1,318.737	1.2	0.5	0.3
Other goods and services		522.862	519.652	519.842	2.4	-0.6	0.0
Commodity and service group
Commodities		199.229	201.362	204.080	8.1	2.4	1.3
Commodities less food and beverages		157.217	159.865	163.004	13.0	3.7	2.0
Nondurables less food and beverages		199.655	202.286	202.858	11.6	1.6	0.3
Durables		108.724	111.052	115.538	14.7	6.3	4.0
Services		357.972	359.111	362.155	2.8	1.2	0.8
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		248.927	250.676	253.507	5.9	1.8	1.1
All items less medical care		268.330	270.029	273.206	5.1	1.8	1.2
Commodities less food		161.101	163.709	166.858	12.5	3.6	1.9
Nondurables		238.568	240.228	241.174	5.9	1.1	0.4
Nondurables less food		203.428	205.935	206.640	10.9	1.6	0.3
Services less rent of shelter(1)		356.127	357.112	360.217	3.4	1.1	0.9
Services less medical care services		341.246	342.511	346.043	3.2	1.4	1.0
Energy		221.008	225.404	231.222	21.1	4.6	2.6
All items less energy		289.199	290.591	293.243	3.6	1.4	0.9
All items less food and energy		292.778	294.320	297.241	3.9	1.5	1.0
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.