The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Northeast rose 0.9 percent in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that higher prices for energy, up 7.4 percent, was responsible for over two-thirds of the overall increase as gasoline prices rose 10.8 percent over the month. Increases were broad based: the food index, up 1.1 percent, and the all items less food and energy index, up 0.2 percent, also contributed overall increase. (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 7.5 percent, the largest increase since December 1981. (See chart 1 and table A.) The all items less food and energy index, up 4.6 percent, was responsible for nearly half of the over-the-year increase but the energy index jumped 40.2 percent, largely the result of higher gasoline prices. The food index advanced 9.0 percent over-the-year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 1.1 percent for the month of May representing the 15^th consecutive month of increases, ranging from 0.2 to 1.1 percent. (See table 1.) Of the two major components within the food index, prices for food at home increased 1.4 percent, matching the April increase, while prices for food away from home rose 0.5 percent for the same period. Food at home prices were higher for other food at home (1.9 percent); meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (1.9 percent); and cereals and bakery products (1.8 percent), among other categories.

From May 2021 to May 2022, the food index increased 9.0 percent – the highest 12-month change since April 1981. Prices for food at home advanced 10.4 percent since a year ago, the greatest such increase in over 41 years. The food away from home index increased 6.3 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 7.4 percent over the month mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (10.8 percent) and fuel oil (18.4 percent). Electricity and utility (piped) gas service advanced 1.5 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.

Energy prices advanced 40.2 percent over the year, the 16^th consecutive increase and the largest since May 1980. Gasoline prices rose 51.9 percent, below the November peak of 57.1 percent. Fuel oil prices jumped 112.5 percent while electricity prices were up 15.3 percent. The utility (piped) gas service index was up 31.1 percent, the largest increase since October 2005.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent in May, the smallest increase in 2022. The shelter index (up 0.4 percent after increases of 0.5 percent in March and April) was pushed by a 0.4 percent increase in owners' equivalent rent of residences which accounted for more than two-thirds of the shelter rise.  For more than 7 years, over-the-month changes in owners' equivalent rent of residences have ranged from 0 to 0.4 percent and rent of primary residence has had a similar pattern for the last 3 years. Public transportation prices were up since April. Other components posted declines: new and used motor vehicles prices were down 1.7 percent, the largest drop since September 2019; the other goods and services index was down 0.4 percent; and education and communication prices edged down 0.1 percent.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 4.6 percent, moderating slightly after rises of 4.9 and 5.0 in the previous 3 months. The shelter index advanced 3.2 percent as owners’ equivalent rent of residences was up 3.1 percent, the largest increase since November 2016. Household furnishings and operations prices increased 9.0 percent, down slightly from April’s historical high of 9.3 percent. The new and used motor vehicles index increased 12.5 percent – the smallest increase in the last year - as prices for used cars and trucks and new vehicle generally moderated.

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	0.7	6.6
March	0.1	2.0	0.5	1.7	-0.2	1.7	0.6	2.1	1.3	7.3
April	0.4	2.1	0.4	1.7	-0.4	0.8	0.7	3.3	0.6	7.2
May	0.4	2.5	0.3	1.5	0.0	0.6	0.6	3.9	0.9	7.5
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 1.1 percent higher in the New England division, while prices in the Middle Atlantic division rose 0.8 percent.

Over the year, prices rose 7.9 percent in the New England division and in the Middle Atlantic division, prices increased 7.3 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	0.9	7.5
New England Division	1.1	7.9
Middle Atlantic Division	0.8	7.3

The June 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Northeast Region is scheduled to be released on July 13, 2022.

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; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

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	Mar. 2022	Apr. 2022	May 2022	May 2021	Mar. 2022	Apr. 2022
All items		298.403	300.325	302.939	7.5	1.5	0.9
All items (December 1977 = 100)		469.894	472.920	477.036
Food and beverages		297.203	300.047	303.241	8.7	2.0	1.1
Food		298.883	301.840	305.074	9.0	2.1	1.1
Food at home		282.730	286.582	290.648	10.4	2.8	1.4
Cereals and bakery products		335.526	340.416	346.685	11.4	3.3	1.8
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		297.267	300.953	306.537	11.7	3.1	1.9
Dairy and related products		253.603	262.070	262.471	10.6	3.5	0.2
Fruits and vegetables		345.908	350.638	352.857	8.0	2.0	0.6
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		192.256	195.044	197.754	9.7	2.9	1.4
Other food at home		252.079	253.600	258.328	10.8	2.5	1.9
Food away from home		325.521	326.649	328.173	6.3	0.8	0.5
Alcoholic beverages		273.704	275.062	277.710	4.9	1.5	1.0
Housing		313.196	315.371	317.975	6.2	1.5	0.8
Shelter		380.887	382.640	384.343	3.2	0.9	0.4
Rent of primary residence		382.076	383.169	384.670	2.8	0.7	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)		394.432	395.373	397.064	3.1	0.7	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)		394.084	395.028	396.712	3.1	0.7	0.4
Fuels and utilities		279.655	285.467	296.645	26.3	6.1	3.9
Household energy		251.512	257.473	269.073	30.9	7.0	4.5
Energy services		236.042	241.446	245.800	20.1	4.1	1.8
Electricity		235.572	240.543	244.127	15.3	3.6	1.5
Utility (piped) gas service		219.386	225.203	230.683	31.1	5.1	2.4
Household furnishings and operations		137.074	138.292	138.564	9.0	1.1	0.2
Apparel		134.447	129.657	130.543	3.7	-2.9	0.7
Transportation		252.063	255.695	261.073	16.9	3.6	2.1
Private transportation		251.301	253.535	257.749	18.4	2.6	1.7
New and used motor vehicles(2)		121.692	124.792	122.678	12.5	0.8	-1.7
New vehicles		163.078	164.492	166.089	11.7	1.8	1.0
New cars and trucks(2)(3)		113.060
New cars(3)		154.520	156.487	157.871	13.6	2.2	0.9
Used cars and trucks		219.614	217.988	219.444	16.9	-0.1	0.7
Motor fuel		357.632	348.980	386.955	52.2	8.2	10.9
Gasoline (all types)		356.041	347.219	384.786	51.9	8.1	10.8
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)		354.027	344.584	382.731	52.6	8.1	11.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)		371.363	366.408	400.533	49.0	7.9	9.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)		355.314	350.883	383.206	46.9	7.8	9.2
Motor vehicle insurance(5)
Medical care		563.166	568.472	568.877	3.4	1.0	0.1
Medical care commodities		383.644	386.322	386.503	1.5	0.7	0.0
Medical care services		616.008	622.123	622.597	3.8	1.1	0.1
Professional services		423.664	428.561	427.073	1.7	0.8	-0.3
Recreation(2)		135.923	136.369	136.352	5.6	0.3	0.0
Education and communication(2)		152.753	152.381	152.249	1.8	-0.3	-0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)		1,342.234	1,342.634	1,343.876	2.2	0.1	0.1
Other goods and services		552.074	552.518	550.577	6.0	-0.3	-0.4
Commodity and service group
Commodities		223.384	223.370	227.659	13.1	1.9	1.9
Commodities less food and beverages		182.158	181.058	185.510	16.0	1.8	2.5
Nondurables less food and beverages		236.826	234.083	244.700	21.0	3.3	4.5
Durables		123.348	123.360	123.593	11.3	0.2	0.2
Services		370.184	374.044	374.918	4.4	1.3	0.2
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		270.076	272.061	275.001	9.7	1.8	1.1
All items less medical care		286.740	288.517	291.218	7.8	1.6	0.9
Commodities less food		185.784	184.742	189.175	15.6	1.8	2.4
Nondurables		266.941	266.906	273.947	14.0	2.6	2.6
Nondurables less food		238.860	236.376	246.481	19.7	3.2	4.3
Services less rent of shelter(1)		371.135	377.423	377.399	5.7	1.7	0.0
Services less medical care services		353.256	356.960	357.858	4.5	1.3	0.3
Energy		293.911	294.285	316.107	40.2	7.6	7.4
All items less energy		302.683	304.768	305.705	5.2	1.0	0.3
All items less food and energy		305.285	307.228	307.765	4.6	0.8	0.2
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.