Prices in the Northeast Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased by 0.1 percent in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the rise was the smallest increase of 2022 and was well below March’s year-long peak increase of 1.3 percent. The all items less food and energy index, up 0.5 percent, accounted for most of the overall rise in the CPI-U although the food index also increased in September, up 0.7 percent. Partly offsetting those increases, the energy index decreased by 4.6 percent, led by declining gasoline prices, down 11.0 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 7.2 percent— in the last 7 months, the increases ranged from 7.2 to 7.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The all items less food and energy index, up 5.4 percent, was largely responsible for the over-the-year increase in September. The energy index increased 23.8 percent over the year with 12-month increases across all energy components and the food index advanced 10.0 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.7 percent for the month of September. (See table 1.) Of the two major components within the food index, prices for food at home increased 0.4 percent, while the index for food away from home had its highest 1-month increase since the series started in 1987, up 1.3 percent. Grocery price increases included fruits and vegetables as well as dairy and related products, both up 1.5 percent. Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs prices partially offset these increases with a decrease of 0.6 percent— the first decline in 2022.

From September 2021 to September 2022, the food index increased 10.0 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 11.5 percent since a year ago, moderating from the 12.0 percent 12-month increase in August. Prices for food away from home increased 7.5 percent, the largest increase in over 40 years.

Energy

The energy index decreased 4.6 percent over the month— the third consecutive monthly decrease – due to declines in the gasoline index. Gasoline prices continued to decline, down 11.0 percent in September, the largest decrease since April 2020. The index for electricity fell 0.5 percent, following a 5.1 percent increase in August; electricity prices show seasonal variations and, over the last year, changes have ranged from -7.6 to 12.3 percent. Fuel oil prices were also lower since August. Offsetting those declines, the utility (piped) gas service index advanced 4.4 percent over the month.

Energy prices increased over the year, up 23.8 percent, the smallest over-the-year increase in just over a year. Over the year, prices for gasoline were up 16.5 percent, the smallest increase this year and considerably lower than the 60.0 percent peak in June. The electricity index rose 19.0 percent while the utility (piped) gas service index was the highest since the index started in 1978, up 39.6 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.5 percent in September. Rising prices for major categories of shelter (up 0.5 percent), apparel (up 1.5 percent), and medical care (up 0.4 percent) contributed to the increase. The indexes for owners' equivalent rent of residences and for rent of primary residence (each up 0.6 percent) contributed to the increase of the shelter index, while prices for medical care services advanced 0.6 percent and were responsible for the medical care index increase. Lower prices for used cars and trucks (down 4.0 percent, the largest decrease since September 2018), recreation (down 0.3 percent), medical care commodities (down 0.8 percent), and lodging away from home partially offset the overall rise.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 5.4 percent; the largest 12-month increase since June 1991. The 12-month increases in the shelter index (up 4.1 percent – the largest increase since January 2007), the new and used motor vehicles index (up 12.5 percent), the medical care index (up 6.1 percent), and household furnishing and operations (up 8.3 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; the 8.6 percent increase was the smallest 12-month price increase in over a year. The shelter index rise was led by gains in the index for owners’ equivalent rent of residences, up 4.3 percent, the highest 12-month increase since March 2007.

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 both the Middle Atlantic and New England division increased by 0.1 percent.

Over the year, the all items index rose 7.4 percent in the New England division and 7.2 percent in the Middle Atlantic 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	0.1	7.2
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	0.1	7.2
New England Division	0.1	7.4
Middle Atlantic Division	0.1	7.2

The October 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Northeast Region is scheduled to be released on November 10, 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.

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