The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Northeast rose 0.8 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that this marked the 15^th consecutive over-the-month advance and the rate of change accelerated after the last 6 months of increases varied between 0.1 and 0.6 percent. It reflected increases across the three major areas: the all items less food and energy index, up 0.5 percent; the energy index, 4.2 percent; and the food index, 0.7 percent, but more than a third of the overall increase was due to a series record 12.3 percent increase in the electricity index. (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 6.3 percent, the largest such increase since December 1990. (See chart 1 and table A.) The all items less food and energy index was mostly responsible for the over-the-year increase, up 4.6 percent, the highest increase for this index since December 1991. This was due primarily to price increases for new and used motor vehicles, up 22.3 percent. The energy index jumped 28.2 percent mainly due to rising prices for gasoline continuing the trend of double-digit over-the-year increases which started in March 2021. The food index also advanced over the year, up 6.0 percent, the largest 12-month increase since December 2008. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.7 percent in January. Prices for food at home increased 0.7 percent driven by increasing prices across the major grocery groups led by increases for cereals and bakery products (1.5 percent) and for dairy and related products (1.7 percent). Prices advanced for components such as rice, pasta, cornmeal; flour and prepared flour mixes; and fresh fish and seafood while other components such as soups and uncooked beef roasts declined. Prices for food away from home increased 0.7 percent in the same period, down from the series high increase of 1.2 percent in October 2021.

Food at home rose 5.6 percent over the year, the highest increase since October 2011, while prices for food away from home increased 6.6 percent. Increasing prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (9.5 percent) helped drive the food at home increase.

Energy

The energy index rose 4.2 percent in January led by an increase in electricity, up 12.3 percent, which was the largest 1-month advance in the 44-year history of that series. Fuel oil prices increased by 10.3 percent while utility (piped) gas services fell 0.5 percent. Gasoline prices also decreased in January, down 0.8 percent as they were in December, after gasoline price increases ranged from 0.3 percent to 9.1 percent in the prior 12 months.

On an annual basis, the Northeast energy index had a 28.2-percent increase due mainly to rising gasoline prices. Over the year, gasoline prices continued the double-digit increases that started in March 2021, jumping 39.4 percent from January 2021 to 2022 although that was well below the 57.1 increase in November 2021. Electricity also increased, up 16.1 percent, the highest increase since January 2006. Prices for utility (piped) gas service increased 19.1 percent, which was the highest over-the-year increase recorded in January since 2006. The fuel oil index was up 46.3 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.5 percent in January and accounted for about half of the overall increase in the CPI. Among that index’s components, prices were higher for almost every subindex, especially apparel, up 3.6 percent; household furnishings and operations, up 1.5 percent; and medical care services, up 1.1 percent. Prices for used cars and trucks, which had increased between 2.6 and 3.5 percent over each of the last 3 months of 2021, moderated during January, up just 1.5 percent.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 4.6 percent, the largest increase seen since December 1991. An annual increase in the index for new and used motor vehicles, up 22.3 percent (an historic high for the series), specifically, used cars and trucks (42.0 percent), led the increase for all items less food and energy. A 2.5 percent increase in owners’ equivalent rent of residences was a contributing factor among broad-based increases throughout the components.

Table A. Northeast region CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2018		2019		2020		2021		2022
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.5	1.6	0.3	1.5	0.7	2.3	0.4	1.1	0.8	6.3
February	0.4	1.7	0.2	1.3	0.3	2.4	0.4	1.2
March	0.1	2.0	0.5	1.7	-0.2	1.7	0.6	2.1
April	0.4	2.1	0.4	1.7	-0.4	0.8	0.7	3.3
May	0.4	2.5	0.3	1.5	0.0	0.6	0.6	3.9
June	0.0	2.6	0.1	1.6	0.3	0.8	1.0	4.6
July	0.0	2.7	0.1	1.7	0.4	1.1	0.2	4.3
August	0.2	2.7	0.1	1.5	0.1	1.1	0.1	4.4
September	0.1	2.2	0.0	1.4	0.1	1.2	0.3	4.6
October	-0.1	2.3	-0.1	1.5	-0.2	1.1	0.6	5.4
November	-0.4	1.9	0.1	1.9	0.1	1.1	0.6	6.0
December	-0.1	1.7	-0.1	1.9	0.2	1.4	0.2	5.9

Geographic divisions

Additional price indexes are now available for the two divisions of the Northeast. Over the month, the all items CPI-U was 0.9 percent higher in the New England division, while prices in the Middle Atlantic division rose 0.7 percent.

Over the year, prices rose 6.6 percent in the New England division. The all items index also rose in the Middle Atlantic division, up 6.1 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	0.8	6.3
New England Division	0.9	6.6
Middle Atlantic Division	0.7	6.1

The Consumer Price Index for February 2022 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, March 10, 2022, 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	Nov. 2021	Dec. 2021	Jan. 2022	Jan. 2021	Nov. 2021	Dec. 2021
All items		289.835	290.405	292.644	6.3	1.0	0.8
All items (December 1977 = 100)		456.401	457.299	460.825
Food and beverages		289.111	290.371	292.369	5.7	1.1	0.7
Food		290.628	292.019	294.032	6.0	1.2	0.7
Food at home		271.905	273.384	275.323	5.6	1.3	0.7
Cereals and bakery products		320.295	321.479	326.232	6.7	1.9	1.5
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		292.763	291.134	291.962	9.5	-0.3	0.3
Dairy and related products		243.174	244.907	248.980	3.2	2.4	1.7
Fruits and vegetables		328.379	331.744	334.196	2.1	1.8	0.7
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		185.026	188.326	188.815	4.9	2.0	0.3
Other food at home		240.325	242.129	243.344	5.4	1.3	0.5
Food away from home		322.436	323.704	325.824	6.6	1.1	0.7
Alcoholic beverages		267.862	267.326	269.129	1.4	0.5	0.7
Housing		305.642	306.791	309.877	4.8	1.4	1.0
Shelter		375.838	377.105	377.619	2.8	0.5	0.1
Rent of primary residence		377.717	378.897	380.092	2.0	0.6	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)		389.840	391.384	392.127	2.5	0.6	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)		389.499	391.031	391.777	2.5	0.6	0.2
Fuels and utilities		254.892	255.417	272.944	17.3	7.1	6.9
Household energy		226.036	226.535	244.870	20.1	8.3	8.1
Energy services		221.169	222.742	240.319	17.0	8.7	7.9
Electricity		217.753	217.206	244.010	16.1	12.1	12.3
Utility (piped) gas service		211.101	216.609	215.517	19.1	2.1	-0.5
Household furnishings and operations		132.557	133.658	135.607	8.1	2.3	1.5
Apparel		124.885	123.105	127.597	3.2	2.2	3.6
Transportation		238.185	238.557	238.672	18.2	0.2	0.0
Private transportation		236.811	237.991	238.284	20.7	0.6	0.1
New and used motor vehicles(2)		118.611	120.426	121.034	22.3	2.0	0.5
New vehicles		163.240	163.153	163.541	11.6	0.2	0.2
New cars and trucks(2)(3)		113.168	113.104	113.377	11.7	0.2	0.2
New cars(3)		154.044	153.901	154.025	12.8	0.0	0.1
Used cars and trucks		211.265	218.646	221.939	42.0	5.1	1.5
Motor fuel		294.222	291.991	289.713	39.3	-1.5	-0.8
Gasoline (all types)		293.146	290.904	288.602	39.4	-1.6	-0.8
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)		290.834	288.444	286.049	40.4	-1.6	-0.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)		308.390	307.342	305.514	35.6	-0.9	-0.6
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)		297.120	295.791	294.217	32.8	-1.0	-0.5
Motor vehicle insurance(5)		617.093	609.767
Medical care		552.929	553.612	558.761	2.1	1.1	0.9
Medical care commodities		384.047	380.624	381.730	0.6	-0.6	0.3
Medical care services		602.428	604.400	610.828	2.4	1.4	1.1
Professional services		423.630	424.071	423.951	2.2	0.1	0.0
Recreation(2)		133.629	132.909	134.030	4.8	0.3	0.8
Education and communication(2)		152.713	152.515	152.624	2.5	-0.1	0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)		1,343.702	1,342.343	1,341.713	2.3	-0.1	0.0
Other goods and services		533.916	536.641	538.725	4.8	0.9	0.4
Commodity and service group
Commodities		212.633	213.213	215.482	11.2	1.3	1.1
Commodities less food and beverages		171.042	171.317	173.555	15.3	1.5	1.3
Nondurables less food and beverages		213.972	212.555	215.991	13.6	0.9	1.6
Durables		120.481	121.870	123.083	17.6	2.2	1.0
Services		363.950	364.512	366.687	3.6	0.8	0.6
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		260.254	260.579	263.428	8.1	1.2	1.1
All items less medical care		278.257	278.823	280.935	6.6	1.0	0.8
Commodities less food		174.735	174.989	177.231	14.7	1.4	1.3
Nondurables		251.204	251.073	253.821	9.1	1.0	1.1
Nondurables less food		217.102	215.738	219.067	12.6	0.9	1.5
Services less rent of shelter(1)		363.435	363.255	367.302	4.6	1.1	1.1
Services less medical care services		347.519	347.985	349.877	3.8	0.7	0.5
Energy		253.737	253.130	263.647	28.2	3.9	4.2
All items less energy		296.816	297.500	299.031	4.8	0.7	0.5
All items less food and energy		299.803	300.367	301.822	4.6	0.7	0.5
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.