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

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	1.9	4.9
August	0.5	1.4	0.3	1.7	0.5	2.3	0.8	0.4	0.6	4.6
October	0.0	0.8	0.0	1.6	-0.4	1.9	0.0	0.8	1.0	5.6
December	-0.1	0.8	-0.7	1.0	-0.3	2.4	0.0	1.1

The Consumer Price Index for December 2021 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 12, 2022, at 8:30 a.m. (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 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 category	Indexes				Percent change from
	Historical data	Aug. 2021	Sep. 2021	Oct. 2021	Oct. 2020	Aug. 2021	Sep. 2021
All items		272.044		274.647	5.6	1.0
All items (1967 = 100)		785.921		793.441
Food and beverages		252.028		255.959	3.6	1.6
Food		252.659		256.795	3.7	1.6
Food at home		250.781	253.350	256.523	3.9	2.3	1.3
Cereals and bakery products		322.289		337.658	5.2	4.8
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		300.504		302.992	11.2	0.8
Dairy and related products		203.588		201.994	-0.4	-0.8
Fruits and vegetables		257.132		262.586	-7.2	2.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		171.953		178.532	9.1	3.8
Other food at home		226.513		233.072	4.8	2.9
Food away from home		248.717		250.835	3.3	0.9
Alcoholic beverages		240.393		241.147	2.8	0.3
Housing		280.380		283.187	4.4	1.0
Shelter		347.168	349.401	349.586	2.7	0.7	0.1
Rent of primary residence		326.468	326.584	326.997	2.3	0.2	0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)		355.879	357.572	357.920	1.2	0.6	0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)		355.879	357.572	357.920	1.2	0.6	0.1
Fuels and utilities		215.703		221.643	9.5	2.8
Household energy		174.345	177.029	179.839	11.5	3.2	1.6
Energy services		183.051	185.468	185.002	4.2	1.1	-0.3
Electricity		182.882	183.203	181.921	2.9	-0.5	-0.7
Utility (piped) gas service		171.250	177.987	179.300	7.3	4.7	0.7
Household furnishings and operations		130.320		132.225	11.6	1.5
Apparel		109.781		108.967	5.0	-0.7
Transportation		239.394		243.516	17.8	1.7
Private transportation		246.861		251.900	20.9	2.0
New and used motor vehicles(3)		124.773		126.106	22.3	1.1
New vehicles(1)		212.134		221.250	24.2	4.3
Used cars and trucks(1)		366.567		363.981	27.2	-0.7
Motor fuel		295.323	296.427	310.673	41.1	5.2	4.8
Gasoline (all types)		291.875	292.985	306.881	41.0	5.1	4.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		288.299	289.369	303.779	41.8	5.4	5.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		298.758	300.114	311.056	37.0	4.1	3.6
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		293.654	294.913	304.774	36.4	3.8	3.3
Motor vehicle insurance(1)		658.517		672.254	6.0	2.1
Medical care		564.402		565.101	0.8	0.1
Recreation(3)		127.160		128.287	1.8	0.9
Education and communication(3)		136.208		136.184	1.9	0.0
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,089.373		1,087.396	3.2	-0.2
Other goods and services		595.343		596.330	5.0	0.2
Commodity and service group
Commodities		199.563		203.402	11.4	1.9
Commodities less food and beverages		169.139		172.775	16.7	2.1
Nondurables less food and beverages		203.469		207.514	12.3	2.0
Durables		126.361		129.302	22.1	2.3
Services		344.964		346.283	2.5	0.4
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		247.338		250.013	7.1	1.1
All items less medical care		259.685		262.369	6.1	1.0
Commodities less food		171.995		175.582	16.2	2.1
Nondurables		228.937		232.957	7.4	1.8
Nondurables less food		205.717		209.584	11.6	1.9
Services less rent of shelter(2)		350.286		350.450	2.2	0.0
Services less medical care services		327.553		328.905	2.4	0.4
Energy		218.066	220.174	227.131	24.4	4.2	3.2
All items less energy		280.330		282.376	4.5	0.7
All items less food and energy		287.838		289.500	4.6	0.6
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.