Prices in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 2.3 percent for the 2 months ending in June 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the June increase followed April’s 2.2 percent jump and was the largest index increase since September 1981. Almost half of the overall June increase was due to a 14.7 percent jump in the energy index, the largest since June 2008. The all items less food and energy index and the food index also rose. (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 8.8 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 continued to rise at a slower pace than the overall index and moderated since April (6.3 percent) as it increased 5.6 percent over the year but accounted for just over half of the overall index change. Both the energy and food indexes had increases that were the highest in over 40 years. (See table 1.)

Food

The rate of increase in food prices moderated in June, up 1.8 percent, almost entirely due to a 2.7-percent price increase for food at home. Grocery price increases included cereals and bakery products (7.3 percent), other food at home (2.6 percent), and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (2.8 percent) and were slightly offset by lower fruits and vegetables prices (-0.7 percent). Food away from home prices increased 0.3 percent in June, down from 1.0 percent in April.

Over the year, food prices increased 10.1 percent, the largest increase since February 1981. Food at home prices jumped 13.1 percent; continuing double-digit increases since February. All the major grocery categories were up over the year, led by the miscellaneous other food at home category (18.2 percent) – the largest increase since the series started in 2018. Prices for food away from home also rose, up 5.4 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 14.7 percent over the 2-month pricing period, the largest increase since June 2008. This was largely due to higher prices for gasoline, up 19.2 percent but still below the 2022 high of 22.2 percent in March. The utility (piped) gas service index increased 15.6 percent, the largest increase since March 2001. Electricity prices increased 7.0 percent in June.

Over the year, the energy index increased 46.0 percent, the largest such increase since April 1980, dominated by a 59.3 percent increase for gasoline. The 42-year record gasoline increase was the second consecutive increase exceeding 50 percent amid 18 months of consecutive price increases. Utility (piped) gas service prices increased 44.3 percent, the largest increase since August 2001. Electricity prices were up 19.1 percent, the largest increase since September 1984.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.2 percent in the latest 2-month period. Higher prices for shelter (1.9 percent), new and used motor vehicles (1.2 percent), and recreation (1.3 percent) were slightly offset by lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-0.9 percent) and education and communication (-0.1 percent). The shelter index increase was due to an increase for owners’ equivalent rent of residences (1.2 percent), lodging away from home (19.2 percent), and rent of primary residence (1.2 percent). New and used motor vehicle prices were largely due to higher prices for used cars and trucks, up 3.2 percent.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 5.6 percent – the smallest increase since 2022 began. Higher prices for shelter (7.0 percent), new and used motor vehicles (7.9 percent) and medical care (4.1 percent) were largely responsible. Within shelter, the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index advanced 5.7 percent, the most since December 2006, while lodging away from home increased 54.9 percent. The 7.9 percent new and used motor vehicles price change ended 7 consecutive double-digit price increases (ranging from 11.0 to 28.8 percent) that began in April 2021.

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	2.3	8.8
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 August 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington area is scheduled to be released on September 13, 2022.

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	Apr. 2022	May 2022	Jun. 2022	Jun. 2021	Apr. 2022	May 2022
All items		287.602		294.207	8.8	2.3
All items (1967 = 100)		830.866		849.946
Food and beverages		271.262		275.854	9.7	1.7
Food		272.891		277.731	10.1	1.8
Food at home		277.623	283.325	285.113	13.1	2.7	0.6
Cereals and bakery products		361.728		388.083	17.8	7.3
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		317.882		326.856	10.5	2.8
Dairy and related products		218.141		224.518	9.9	2.9
Fruits and vegetables		301.297		299.288	8.5	-0.7
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		187.559		191.071	12.0	1.9
Other food at home		254.633		261.190	18.2	2.6
Food away from home		258.728		259.554	5.4	0.3
Alcoholic beverages		244.648		246.435	3.4	0.7
Housing		295.768		303.276	9.2	2.5
Shelter		361.491	364.160	368.327	7.0	1.9	1.1
Rent of primary residence		336.497	337.710	340.575	5.1	1.2	0.8
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)		369.904	371.828	374.461	5.7	1.2	0.7
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)		369.904	371.828	374.461	5.7	1.2	0.7
Fuels and utilities		253.469		279.625	31.4	10.3
Household energy		210.333	220.509	233.401	35.9	11.0	5.8
Energy services		207.502	210.060	228.238	26.7	10.0	8.7
Electricity		202.601	205.420	216.798	19.1	7.0	5.5
Utility (piped) gas service		204.970	206.879	237.034	44.3	15.6	14.6
Household furnishings and operations		135.858		134.587	5.0	-0.9
Apparel		108.442		108.908	0.9	0.4
Transportation		266.438		279.577	17.4	4.9
Private transportation		272.889		288.074	18.2	5.6
New and used motor vehicles(3)		132.219		133.753	7.9	1.2
New vehicles(1)		225.127		228.747	10.2	1.6
Used cars and trucks(1)		384.977		397.247	8.0	3.2
Motor fuel		382.021	424.690	455.409	59.4	19.2	7.2
Gasoline (all types)		377.130	419.199	449.633	59.3	19.2	7.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		373.463	416.414	446.230	60.2	19.5	7.2
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		383.251	417.563	451.238	56.0	17.7	8.1
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		373.225	406.707	438.754	54.0	17.6	7.9
Motor vehicle insurance(1)
Medical care		592.522		596.423	4.1	0.7
Recreation(3)		131.231		132.941	3.7	1.3
Education and communication(3)		134.705		134.604	0.3	-0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,080.349		1,080.349	1.0	0.0
Other goods and services		619.543		626.642	6.9	1.1
Commodity and service group
Commodities		216.775		223.610	13.0	3.2
Commodities less food and beverages		184.681		192.032	14.9	4.0
Nondurables less food and beverages		231.575		248.681	24.1	7.4
Durables		131.862		131.990	5.4	0.1
Services		359.165		365.699	6.4	1.8
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		263.627		270.253	9.8	2.5
All items less medical care		274.709		281.417	9.2	2.4
Commodities less food		187.317		194.515	14.5	3.8
Nondurables		253.079		264.350	16.4	4.5
Nondurables less food		232.265		248.242	22.5	6.9
Services less rent of shelter(2)		364.626		370.935	5.9	1.7
Services less medical care services		341.277		348.042	6.8	2.0
Energy		271.093	291.952	310.907	46.0	14.7	6.5
All items less energy		292.680		296.360	6.2	1.3
All items less food and energy		298.910		302.438	5.6	1.2
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.