Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

News Release Information

21-2013-PHL
Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Consumer Price Index, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington – October 2021

Area prices up 1.0 percent over the last two months; up 5.6 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington increased 1.0 percent from August to October, the fifth consecutive 2-month increase, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that a 0.6-percent increase in the all items less food and energy index led the overall rise. The energy index and the food index also increased over the 2-month period, up 4.2 and 1.6 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 advanced 5.6 percent; this was the largest over-the year increase since February 1991. The October rise was led by a 4.6-percent increase in the all items less food and energy index. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index and the food index also increased over the year, up 24.4  and 3.7 percent, respectively. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 1.6 percent from August to October, reflecting a 2.3-percent price increase for food at home. Prices for food away from home also increased over the 2-month period, up 0.9 percent.

Over the year, the food index rose 3.7 percent, reflecting price increases for both food at home (3.9 percent) and food away from home (3.3 percent).

Energy

The energy index increased 4.2 percent over the 2-month pricing period, largely due to a 5.1-percent increase in prices for gasoline. Prices for utility (piped) gas service increased 4.7 percent since August, while electricity prices declined 0.5 percent.

Over the year, the energy index increased 24.4 percent, reflecting price increases for both gasoline, up 41.0 percent and utility (piped) gas service was up 7.3 percent. Electricity increased 2.9 percent over the year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.6 percent from August to October. Shelter prices increased 0.7 percent and new and used motor vehicles prices increased 1.1 percent, largely due to a 4.3-percent increase in new vehicles which continued the rapid increase in that index which began in April. While initially used car and truck prices also increased, that index saw modest 2-month declines in August and October, down 0.4 and 0.7 percent, respectively.

From October 2020 to October 2021, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 4.6 percent, reflecting higher prices for shelter (2.7 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (22.3 percent).

Table A. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month20172018201920202021
2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month

February

0.72.10.40.50.81.51.02.60.81.0

April

0.01.30.91.41.31.9-1.3-0.11.23.5

June

-0.30.70.21.90.52.10.60.11.94.9

August

0.51.40.31.70.52.30.80.40.64.6

October

0.00.80.01.6-0.41.90.00.81.05.6

December

-0.10.8-0.71.0-0.32.40.01.1

The Consumer Price Index for December 2021 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 12, 2022, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on October 2021 Consumer Price Index Data

Data collection by personal visit for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) program has been suspended almost entirely since March 16, 2020. When possible, data normally collected by personal visit were collected either online or by phone. Additionally, data collection in October was affected by the temporary closing or limited operations of certain types of establishments. These factors resulted in an increase in the number of prices considered temporarily unavailable and imputed.

While the CPI program attempted to collect as much data as possible, many indexes are based on smaller amounts of collected prices than usual, and a small number of indexes that are normally published were not published this month. Additional information is available at www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-consumer-price-index.htm.


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 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 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 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 categoryIndexesPercent change from
Historical
data
Aug.
2021
Sep.
2021
Oct.
2021
Oct.
2020
Aug.
2021
Sep.
2021

All items

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSA0
272.044 274.6475.61.0 

All items (1967 = 100)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BAA0
785.921 793.441   

Food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSAF
252.028 255.9593.61.6 

Food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSAF1
252.659 256.7953.71.6 

Food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSAF11
250.781253.350256.5233.92.31.3

Cereals and bakery products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSAF111
322.289 337.6585.24.8 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSAF112
300.504 302.99211.20.8 

Dairy and related products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSEFJ
203.588 201.994-0.4-0.8 

Fruits and vegetables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSAF113
257.132 262.586-7.22.1 

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSAF114
171.953 178.5329.13.8 

Other food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSAF115
226.513 233.0724.82.9 

Food away from home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSEFV
248.717 250.8353.30.9 

Alcoholic beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSAF116
240.393 241.1472.80.3 

Housing

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSAH
280.380 283.1874.41.0 

Shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSAH1
347.168349.401349.5862.70.70.1

Rent of primary residence

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSEHA
326.468326.584326.9972.30.20.1

Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSEHC
355.879357.572357.9201.20.60.1

Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSEHC01
355.879357.572357.9201.20.60.1

Fuels and utilities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSAH2
215.703 221.6439.52.8 

Household energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSAH21
174.345177.029179.83911.53.21.6

Energy services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSEHF
183.051185.468185.0024.21.1-0.3

Electricity

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSEHF01
182.882183.203181.9212.9-0.5-0.7

Utility (piped) gas service

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSEHF02
171.250177.987179.3007.34.70.7

Household furnishings and operations

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSAH3
130.320 132.22511.61.5 

Apparel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSAA
109.781 108.9675.0-0.7 

Transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSAT
239.394 243.51617.81.7 

Private transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSAT1
246.861 251.90020.92.0 

New and used motor vehicles(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSETA
124.773 126.10622.31.1 

New vehicles(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSETA01
212.134 221.25024.24.3 

Used cars and trucks(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSETA02
366.567 363.98127.2-0.7 

Motor fuel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSETB
295.323296.427310.67341.15.24.8

Gasoline (all types)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSETB01
291.875292.985306.88141.05.14.7

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSS47014
288.299289.369303.77941.85.45.0

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSS47015
298.758300.114311.05637.04.13.6

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSS47016
293.654294.913304.77436.43.83.3

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSETE
658.517 672.2546.02.1 

Medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSAM
564.402 565.1010.80.1 

Recreation(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSAR
127.160 128.2871.80.9 

Education and communication(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSAE
136.208 136.1841.90.0 

Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSEEB
1,089.373 1,087.3963.2-0.2 

Other goods and services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSAG
595.343 596.3305.00.2 

Commodity and service group

Commodities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSAC
199.563 203.40211.41.9 

Commodities less food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSACL11
169.139 172.77516.72.1 

Nondurables less food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSANL11
203.469 207.51412.32.0 

Durables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSAD
126.361 129.30222.12.3 

Services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSAS
344.964 346.2832.50.4 

Special aggregate indexes

All items less shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSA0L2
247.338 250.0137.11.1 

All items less medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSA0L5
259.685 262.3696.11.0 

Commodities less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSACL1
171.995 175.58216.22.1 

Nondurables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSAN
228.937 232.9577.41.8 

Nondurables less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSANL1
205.717 209.58411.61.9 

Services less rent of shelter(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSASL2RS
350.286 350.4502.20.0 

Services less medical care services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSASL5
327.553 328.9052.40.4 

Energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSA0E
218.066220.174227.13124.44.23.2

All items less energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSA0LE
280.330 282.3764.50.7 

All items less food and energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS12BSA0L1E
287.838 289.5004.60.6 

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.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, November 10, 2021