The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington increased 1.2 percent from February to April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the recent increase was due largely to an increase in the all items less food and energy index (1.1 percent). The food index and the energy index also increased over the 2-month period, up 1.4 and 2.3 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 CPI-U rose 3.5 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The over-the-year rise was due largely to an increase in the all items less food and energy index (3.1 percent). The energy index and the food index also increased since April 2020, up 16.5 and 0.4 percent, respectively. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index increased 1.4 percent over the last 2 months. Prices for food away from home rose 1.6 percent since February, and those for food at home were up 1.2 percent. Within the food at home component, prices were higher for items such as uncooked beef steaks and citrus fruits, while prices were lower for breakfast cereal and carbonated drinks.

Over the year, the food index increased 0.4 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 4.1 percent, while those for food at home were down 2.5 percent.

Energy

The energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, increased 2.3 percent since February. The 2-month increase was due to a 5.3-percent rise in gasoline prices. Prices were lower for utility (piped) gas service (-1.3 percent) while those for electricity were unchanged since February.

Over the year, the energy index advanced 16.5 percent, led by a 36.4-percent jump in gasoline prices. Prices were also higher for electricity, up 1.2 percent, while those for utility (piped) gas service were down 2.7 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.1 percent from February to April. Higher prices for new and used motor vehicles (7.7 percent), primarily those for used cars and trucks (12.2 percent), were moderated by lower prices for recreation (-0.7 percent), education and communication (-0.1 percent), and medical care (-0.1 percent).

Since April 2020, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 3.1 percent. Prices were higher for new and used motor vehicles (11.0 percent), particularly those for used cars and trucks (20.7 percent), along with prices for medical care (4.4 percent) and household furnishings and operations (8.3 percent).

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

Month	2017		2018		2019		2020		2021
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	0.7	2.1	0.4	0.5	0.8	1.5	1.0	2.6	0.8	1.0
April	0.0	1.3	0.9	1.4	1.3	1.9	-1.3	-0.1	1.2	3.5
June	-0.3	0.7	0.2	1.9	0.5	2.1	0.6	0.1
August	0.5	1.4	0.3	1.7	0.5	2.3	0.8	0.4
October	0.0	0.8	0.0	1.6	-0.4	1.9	0.0	0.8
December	-0.1	0.8	-0.7	1.0	-0.3	2.4	0.0	1.1

The Consumer Price Index for June 2021 is scheduled to be released Tuesday, July 13, 2021 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 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 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; 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 atwww.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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, Core Based Statistical Area includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania; Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, 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 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, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from
	Historical data	Feb. 2021	Mar. 2021	Apr. 2021	Apr. 2020	Feb. 2021	Mar. 2021
All items		262.167		265.355	3.5	1.2
All items (1967 = 100)		757.386		766.597
Food and beverages		245.253		248.347	0.5	1.3
Food		245.922		249.307	0.4	1.4
Food at home		243.619	245.960	246.590	-2.5	1.2	0.3
Cereals and bakery products		318.730		318.114	-2.7	-0.2
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		266.679		276.816	-2.6	3.8
Dairy and related products		200.339		201.692	-7.2	0.7
Fruits and vegetables		281.846		281.062	0.2	-0.3
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		158.151		163.550	0.4	3.4
Other food at home		220.814		221.319	-3.5	0.2
Food away from home		242.652		246.449	4.1	1.6
Alcoholic beverages		233.081		231.671	2.1	-0.6
Housing		272.948		274.219	1.8	0.5
Shelter		338.986	339.392	340.666	0.6	0.5	0.4
Rent of primary residence		319.620	320.627	320.992	1.1	0.4	0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)		351.015	351.106	352.615	1.1	0.5	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)		351.015	351.106	352.615	1.1	0.5	0.4
Fuels and utilities		209.661		209.987	3.1	0.2
Household energy		169.000	168.451	168.694	3.2	-0.2	0.1
Energy services		179.668	178.145	178.982	0.0	-0.4	0.5
Electricity		179.906	177.830	179.930	1.2	0.0	1.2
Utility (piped) gas service		167.220	166.981	165.061	-2.7	-1.3	-1.1
Household furnishings and operations		124.676		125.340	8.3	0.5
Apparel		108.400		110.576	7.1	2.0
Transportation		209.462		220.407	13.0	5.2
Private transportation		212.180		223.341	13.5	5.3
New and used motor vehicles(3)		100.711		108.420	11.0	7.7
New vehicles(1)		182.884		189.466	8.7	3.6
Used cars and trucks(1)		277.591		311.505	20.7	12.2
Motor fuel		253.167	272.008	266.588	36.1	5.3	-2.0
Gasoline (all types)		249.958	268.639	263.211	36.4	5.3	-2.0
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		246.430	265.326	259.470	37.1	5.3	-2.2
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		257.509	270.040	272.929	31.7	6.0	1.1
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		254.775	271.255	268.183	32.2	5.3	-1.1
Motor vehicle insurance(1)		645.662		651.153	5.5	0.9
Medical care		576.928		576.610	4.4	-0.1
Recreation(3)		126.299		125.476	0.3	-0.7
Education and communication(3)		133.641		133.529	0.4	-0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,054.882		1,053.564	-0.2	-0.1
Other goods and services		581.137		590.414	6.6	1.6
Commodity and service group
Commodities		186.636		191.134	6.8	2.4
Commodities less food and beverages		154.211		159.099	11.4	3.2
Nondurables less food and beverages		193.227		196.636	9.0	1.8
Durables		109.912		115.259	14.2	4.9
Services		338.275		340.100	1.7	0.5
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		236.851		240.563	5.0	1.6
All items less medical care		248.859		252.196	3.4	1.3
Commodities less food		157.162		161.923	11.0	3.0
Nondurables		220.320		223.601	4.2	1.5
Nondurables less food		195.625		198.772	8.6	1.6
Services less rent of shelter(2)		345.131		347.097	2.8	0.6
Services less medical care services		319.896		321.912	1.2	0.6
Energy		199.369	205.857	204.045	16.5	2.3	-0.9
All items less energy		271.134		274.226	2.7	1.1
All items less food and energy		278.099		281.159	3.1	1.1
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.