Prices in the Northeast Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), edged up 0.3 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the modest rise followed a decrease the previous month and was the smallest increase of 2022. The all items less food and energy index, up 0.6 percent, accounted for most of the overall rise in the CPI-U although the food index also increased in August, up 0.7 percent. Partially offsetting those increases, the energy index decreased by 3.0 percent. (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 index rose 7.4 percent; throughout 2022, the overall CPI increases ranged from 6.3 to 7.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The all items less food and energy index, up 5.0 percent, was largely responsible for the over-the-year increase in August. The energy index increased 31.2 percent over the year as prices for gasoline increased 32.4 percent and the food index advanced 10.2 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.7 percent for the month of August, moderating somewhat from the 1.3-percent increase in July. (See table 1.) Of the two major components within the food index, prices for food at home increased 0.8 percent, while prices for food away from home were up 0.4 percent. Grocery price increases included other food at home (up 1.6 percent) and cereals and bakery products (up 1.7 percent).

From August 2021 to August 2022, the food index increased 10.2 percent – about the same as the 10.1 percent rise in July. Prices for food at home advanced 12.0 percent since a year ago, up slightly from the 11.7 percent 12-month increase in July. Prices for food away from home increased 7.1 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 3.0 percent over the month of August following a 4.6 percent drop in July. Gasoline prices continued to fall, down 9.3 percent in August after a 5.9 percent drop in July. The index for electricity increased 5.1 percent and the utility (piped) gas service index advanced 3.2 percent over the month; both indexes had over-the-month declines in July.

Energy prices moderated somewhat over the year, up 31.2 percent following a 12-month increase of 36.7 percent in July. The energy index continued to show the impact of higher prices for gasoline, up 32.4 percent but the smallest increase this year compared with 12-month advances of 60.0 percent in June and 47.4 percent in July. The electricity index rose 19.5 percent while the utility (piped) gas service index was up 37.0 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.6 percent in August. Higher prices for shelter (up 0.6 percent), apparel (up 3.0 percent), and medical care (up 0.8 percent) contributed to the increase. Decreases in public transportation and recreation partially offset the overall index rise. Both the indexes for owners' equivalent rent of residences and for rent of primary residence contributed to the increase of the shelter index, each rose 0.6 percent, while prices for medical care services advanced 0.9 percent and were mainly responsible for the medical care index increase.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 5.0 percent; so far in 2022, the 12-month changes have ranged from 4.3 to 5.0 percent. The 12-month increases in the shelter index (up 3.7 percent – the largest increase since 2007), the new and used motor vehicles index (up 11.6 percent), the medical care index (up 5.7 percent), and household furnishing and operations (up 8.7 percent) contributed to the increase in the all items less food and energy index. Within new and used motor vehicles, prices for new vehicles moderated, up 9.8 percent – the smallest price increase since the year began. The increase in the shelter index was led by gains in the index for owners’ equivalent rent of residences, up 3.9 percent; the pace of over-the-year increase in owners’ equivalent rent of residences ranged from 1.7 to 3.9 percent over the last 12 months.

Geographic divisions

Additional price indexes are now available for the two divisions of the Northeast. Over the month, the all items CPI-U index for the Middle Atlantic division increased 0.4 percent, and the New England division rose 0.2 percent.

Over the year, the all items index rose 7.5 percent in the Middle Atlantic division and 7.3 percent in the New England division. (See table B.)

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	1.2	7.6
July	0.0	2.7	0.1	1.7	0.4	1.1	0.2	4.3	-0.2	7.3
August	0.2	2.7	0.1	1.5	0.1	1.1	0.1	4.4	0.3	7.4
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

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	0.3	7.4
New England Division	0.2	7.3
Middle Atlantic Division	0.4	7.5

The September 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Northeast Region is scheduled to be released on October 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	Jun. 2022	Jul. 2022	Aug. 2022	Aug. 2021	Jun. 2022	Jul. 2022
All items		306.453	305.916	306.855	7.4	0.1	0.3
All items (December 1977 = 100)		482.570	481.724	483.203
Food and beverages		304.928	308.776	310.957	9.9	2.0	0.7
Food		306.848	310.853	313.018	10.2	2.0	0.7
Food at home		291.665	296.137	298.620	12.0	2.4	0.8
Cereals and bakery products		352.511	359.884	365.857	16.0	3.8	1.7
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		306.931	310.644	311.643	9.7	1.5	0.3
Dairy and related products		267.049	270.667	272.872	15.1	2.2	0.8
Fruits and vegetables		346.709	350.853	350.867	8.5	1.2	0.0
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		198.924	203.205	204.097	11.6	2.6	0.4
Other food at home		260.067	264.114	268.460	13.6	3.2	1.6
Food away from home		331.418	334.425	335.920	7.1	1.4	0.4
Alcoholic beverages		278.252	280.031	282.405	4.8	1.5	0.8
Housing		320.297	319.846	322.473	6.5	0.7	0.8
Shelter		385.575	386.621	388.910	3.7	0.9	0.6
Rent of primary residence		386.924	388.189	390.595	4.0	0.9	0.6
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)		398.725	399.736	402.291	3.9	0.9	0.6
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)		398.378	399.392	401.941	3.9	0.9	0.6
Fuels and utilities		306.592	297.558	304.524	25.6	-0.7	2.3
Household energy		279.009	269.663	276.998	30.0	-0.7	2.7
Energy services		258.329	254.546	265.863	24.8	2.9	4.4
Electricity		253.807	248.867	261.603	19.5	3.1	5.1
Utility (piped) gas service		247.643	246.317	254.123	37.0	2.6	3.2
Household furnishings and operations		139.554	139.771	140.835	8.7	0.9	0.8
Apparel		129.637	127.622	131.471	3.7	1.4	3.0
Transportation		271.417	266.429	261.376	14.1	-3.7	-1.9
Private transportation		268.937	264.840	259.953	14.5	-3.3	-1.8
New and used motor vehicles(2)		127.943	127.241	128.040	11.6	0.1	0.6
New vehicles		167.365	168.573	169.702	9.8	1.4	0.7
New cars(3)		158.540	160.171	160.651	10.9	1.3	0.3
Used cars and trucks		224.188	224.831	224.905	8.4	0.3	0.0
Motor fuel		416.155	391.537	355.248	32.6	-14.6	-9.3
Gasoline (all types)		414.151	389.580	353.429	32.4	-14.7	-9.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)		411.558	385.881	349.249	32.1	-15.1	-9.5
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)		433.247	414.314	380.131	34.2	-12.3	-8.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)		414.948	398.793	367.488	34.1	-11.4	-7.8
Medical care		573.145	576.156	580.669	5.7	1.3	0.8
Medical care commodities		386.288	391.379	392.344	3.5	1.6	0.2
Medical care services		628.303	630.586	636.224	6.2	1.3	0.9
Professional services		430.281	427.588	429.925	1.9	-0.1	0.5
Recreation(2)		136.949	137.500	137.263	4.3	0.2	-0.2
Education and communication(2)		152.217	152.327	152.938	0.8	0.5	0.4
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)		1,344.427	1,348.651	1,360.598	1.8	1.2	0.9
Other goods and services		557.181	557.521	561.095	5.9	0.7	0.6
Commodity and service group
Commodities		230.510	229.581	228.782	10.8	-0.7	-0.3
Commodities less food and beverages		188.635	185.946	184.062	11.4	-2.4	-1.0
Nondurables less food and beverages		250.340	243.255	237.946	15.2	-5.0	-2.2
Durables		124.801	125.047	125.418	7.7	0.5	0.3
Services		379.054	378.922	381.613	5.5	0.7	0.7
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		279.325	278.230	278.698	9.4	-0.2	0.2
All items less medical care		294.694	294.009	294.797	7.6	0.0	0.3
Commodities less food		192.253	189.664	187.880	11.1	-2.3	-0.9
Nondurables		277.683	275.892	274.208	12.2	-1.3	-0.6
Nondurables less food		251.796	245.274	240.453	14.4	-4.5	-2.0
Services less rent of shelter(1)		384.943	383.505	386.711	7.6	0.5	0.8
Services less medical care services		361.880	361.593	364.085	5.5	0.6	0.7
Energy		333.517	318.237	308.830	31.2	-7.4	-3.0
All items less energy		308.028	308.796	310.669	5.7	0.9	0.6
All items less food and energy		310.200	310.401	312.234	5.0	0.7	0.6
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.