Prices in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 2.2 percent for the 2 months ending in April 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the April increase is the largest increase for this index since July 1982. The increase was primarily due to a 1.5 percent jump in the all items less food and energy index driven by higher prices for shelter and medical care. A 9.3 percent increase in the energy index and a 2.5 percent rise in the food index also contributed to the 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 CPI-U advanced 8.4 percent, the largest over-the-year increase since January 1982. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 6.3 percent over the year, the largest over-the-year increase since March 1991. Energy prices were up 32.9 percent mostly due to higher gasoline prices. Food prices increased 9.5 percent, the largest over-the-year increase for food since March 1981. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 2.5 percent in April, reflecting a 3.5-percent price increase for food at home, driven by increasing prices for other food at home (5.3 percent), fruits and vegetables (5.6 percent), and dairy and related products (4.2 percent), though all major grocery categories were higher since February. The increases for other food at home as well as fruits and vegetables were the largest increases since these series started in 2018. Food away from home prices increased 1.0 percent since February, continuing a moderating trend since December when they rose 2.2 percent.

Over the year, food prices increased 9.5 percent, the largest increase since March 1981. Food at home prices jumped 12.6 percent; the largest over-the-year increase since August 1978, as all of the major grocery categories were up over the year, led by other food at home (15.1 percent) – the largest increase since the series started in 2018 – and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (at 14.8 percent it was below the February largest 12-month increase, the peak increase for that series). Prices for food away from home also rose, up 5.0 percent, down from 5.5 percent in February.

Energy

The energy index increased 9.3 percent over the 2-month pricing period, largely due to higher prices for gasoline, up 14.6 percent. The electricity index edged up 1.3 percent while utility (piped) gas service prices were unchanged since February.

Over the year, the energy index increased 32.9 percent, the largest such increase since June 1980, dominated by a 43.3 percent increase for gasoline which moderated after its most recent peak of 47.3 percent in November 2021.  Electricity prices were up 12.6 percent while utility (piped) gas service increased 24.2 percent, the largest over-the-year gain since May 2006.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.5 percent from February to April driven by higher prices for shelter (1.5 percent) and medical care (2.9 percent) while lower prices for apparel (-3.8 percent) partially offset the overall increase. Within the shelter index, lodging away from home increased 27.1 percent while owners’ equivalent rent of residences and household furnishings and operations increased 0.7 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively. Public transportation prices increased while new and used motor vehicle prices increased 1.9 percent, well below the series peak of 14.3 percent in June 2021 though it was the largest 2-month increase since then.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 6.3 percent reflecting higher prices for shelter (6.1 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (22.0 percent). Within shelter, owners’ equivalent rent of residences advanced 4.9 percent among broad increases in the overall category. The new and used motor vehicles price change was the smallest of the past year.

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	2018		2019		2020		2021		2022
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	0.4	0.5	0.8	1.5	1.0	2.6	0.8	1.0	1.5	7.3
April	0.9	1.4	1.3	1.9	-1.3	-0.1	1.2	3.5	2.2	8.4
June	0.2	1.9	0.5	2.1	0.6	0.1	1.9	4.9
August	0.3	1.7	0.5	2.3	0.8	0.4	0.6	4.6
October	0.0	1.6	-0.4	1.9	0.0	0.8	1.0	5.6
December	-0.7	1.0	-0.3	2.4	0.0	1.1	0.9	6.6

The Consumer Price Index for June 2022 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, July 13, 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 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 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 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, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from
	Historical data	Feb. 2022	Mar. 2022	Apr. 2022	Apr. 2021	Feb. 2022	Mar. 2022
All items		281.402		287.602	8.4	2.2
All items (1967 = 100)		812.955		830.866
Food and beverages		264.576		271.262	9.2	2.5
Food		266.116		272.891	9.5	2.5
Food at home		268.158	274.166	277.623	12.6	3.5	1.3
Cereals and bakery products		353.360		361.728	13.7	2.4
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		312.873		317.882	14.8	1.6
Dairy and related products		209.373		218.141	8.2	4.2
Fruits and vegetables		285.192		301.297	7.2	5.6
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		185.384		187.559	14.7	1.2
Other food at home		241.761		254.633	15.1	5.3
Food away from home		256.079		258.728	5.0	1.0
Alcoholic beverages		239.125		244.648	5.6	2.3
Housing		289.928		295.768	7.9	2.0
Shelter		355.991	358.779	361.491	6.1	1.5	0.8
Rent of primary residence		333.117	334.811	336.497	4.8	1.0	0.5
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)		367.255	368.373	369.904	4.9	0.7	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)		367.255	368.373	369.904	4.9	0.7	0.4
Fuels and utilities		242.304		253.469	20.7	4.6
Household energy		199.814	207.394	210.333	24.7	5.3	1.4
Energy services		205.813	205.529	207.502	15.9	0.8	1.0
Electricity		200.064	201.322	202.601	12.6	1.3	0.6
Utility (piped) gas service		205.003	201.780	204.970	24.2	0.0	1.6
Household furnishings and operations		132.281		135.858	8.4	2.7
Apparel		112.696		108.442	-1.9	-3.8
Transportation		251.620		266.438	20.9	5.9
Private transportation		260.762		272.889	22.2	4.7
New and used motor vehicles(3)		129.738		132.219	22.0	1.9
New vehicles(1)		223.415		225.127	18.8	0.8
Used cars and trucks(1)		396.116		384.977	23.6	-2.8
Motor fuel		333.089	386.765	382.021	43.3	14.7	-1.2
Gasoline (all types)		328.941	381.842	377.130	43.3	14.6	-1.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		326.075	378.919	373.463	43.9	14.5	-1.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		331.496	382.107	383.251	40.4	15.6	0.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		323.494	372.975	373.225	39.2	15.4	0.1
Motor vehicle insurance(1)
Medical care		575.891		592.522	2.8	2.9
Recreation(3)		131.675		131.231	4.6	-0.3
Education and communication(3)		135.443		134.705	0.9	-0.5
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,080.349		1,080.349	2.5	0.0
Other goods and services		616.917		619.543	4.9	0.4
Commodity and service group
Commodities		210.755		216.775	13.4	2.9
Commodities less food and beverages		179.227		184.681	16.1	3.0
Nondurables less food and beverages		218.035		231.575	17.8	6.2
Durables		132.317		131.862	14.4	-0.3
Services		352.666		359.165	5.6	1.8
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		257.050		263.627	9.6	2.6
All items less medical care		268.946		274.709	8.9	2.1
Commodities less food		181.840		187.317	15.7	3.0
Nondurables		242.690		253.079	13.2	4.3
Nondurables less food		219.322		232.265	16.8	5.9
Services less rent of shelter(2)		356.873		364.626	5.1	2.2
Services less medical care services		334.984		341.277	6.0	1.9
Energy		247.985	270.533	271.093	32.9	9.3	0.2
All items less energy		287.934		292.680	6.7	1.6
All items less food and energy		294.445		298.910	6.3	1.5
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.