Prices in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), were unchanged for the 2 months ending in August 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that this is the first release since December 2020 without a bimonthly increase. A 9.2-percent decline in the energy index was offset by a 0.7-percent increase in the all items less food and energy index and a 2.1-percent increase in the food index. (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 8.1 percent, down from June’s 8.8-percent increase. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy rose 5.8 percent over the year. Energy prices moderated, the 29.5 percent increase was well below the 46.0 percent reported in June. Food prices continued to rise as they advanced 12.2 percent, the fastest rate in that series since 1979. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 2.1 percent for the 2 months ending in August, mostly due to a 2.9-percent rise in prices for food at home. Grocery price increases included the other food at home category (6.7 percent); meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (3.6 percent); and cereals and bakery products (4.4 percent). These increases were offset by lower prices for fruits and vegetables (-3.5 percent) and nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (-1.6 percent). Prices for food away from home advanced 0.8 percent in August.

Over the year, food prices rose 12.2 percent, the largest increase in over 43 years, after consistent 12-month increases since June 2018. Prices for food at home advanced 16.9 percent since a year ago; the largest increase since 1974. All major grocery categories were up over the year, driven by price increases for other food at home (23.0 percent) and cereals and bakery products (25.7 percent), both the largest increases since their series began in 2018. Prices for food away from home were up 5.2 percent, on par with increases throughout 2022 which have ranged from 5.0 to 5.5 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 9.2 percent for the 2 months ending in August, the first 2-month decline in the index since November 2020 and followed the recent peak increase of 14.7 percent in June. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-15.2 percent), the largest decline since April 2020. The utility (piped) gas services index moderated, up 1.2 percent after a 15.6 percent increase in June, while the electricity index decreased 0.2 percent for the same period.

Energy prices rose 29.5 percent over the year, moderating the pace of increase in that category that peaked at 46.0 percent in June. Higher prices for gasoline over the year (up 30.7 percent, but well below the 59.3 percent increase in June) contributed the most to the 12-month increase in the energy index. The index for utility (piped) gas services increased 40.1 percent, and the electricity index increased 18.3 percent over the past year; both were lower than their June increases.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.7 percent in the latest 2-month period, the lowest increase so far in 2022. Higher prices for shelter (0.7 percent) and apparel (3.1 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for public transportation, as well as recreation (-1.2 percent); the largest decline in the recreation index since October 2019. The shelter index increase was largely due to a 1.3-percent increase in the index for owners’ equivalent rent of residences while the rent of primary residence index was up 1.4 percent. Alcoholic beverage prices increased 7.5 percent, the largest increase in over 31 years.  

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 5.8 percent; since August 2021, 12-month increases have ranged from 4.6 to 6.3 percent. The recent rise was mainly driven by a 6.8-percent increase in the shelter index. Within shelter, the index for owners’ equivalent rent of residences advanced 6.6 percent, the largest rise since October 2006. New and used motor vehicles prices increased 7.9 percent due to higher prices for new vehicles (9.1 percent) and used cars and trucks (8.5 percent). Medical care prices also advanced 6.2 percent over the year; it was the biggest 12-month increase since April 2005.

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	0.0	8.1
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 October 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington area is scheduled to be released on November 10, 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	Jun. 2022	Jul. 2022	Aug. 2022	Aug. 2021	Jun. 2022	Jul. 2022
All items		294.207		294.130	8.1	0.0
All items (1967 = 100)		849.946		849.726
Food and beverages		275.854		282.714	12.2	2.5
Food		277.731		283.470	12.2	2.1
Food at home		285.113	290.387	293.263	16.9	2.9	1.0
Cereals and bakery products		388.083		405.123	25.7	4.4
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		326.856		338.689	12.7	3.6
Dairy and related products		224.518		234.292	15.1	4.4
Fruits and vegetables		299.288		288.696	12.3	-3.5
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		191.071		188.076	9.4	-1.6
Other food at home		261.190		278.724	23.0	6.7
Food away from home		259.554		261.602	5.2	0.8
Alcoholic beverages		246.435		264.976	10.2	7.5
Housing		303.276		304.107	8.5	0.3
Shelter		368.327	369.623	370.783	6.8	0.7	0.3
Rent of primary residence		340.575	342.505	345.241	5.8	1.4	0.8
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)		374.461	376.112	379.360	6.6	1.3	0.9
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)		374.461	376.112	379.360	6.6	1.3	0.9
Fuels and utilities		279.625		270.792	25.5	-3.2
Household energy		233.401	227.508	224.244	28.6	-3.9	-1.4
Energy services		228.238	229.052	229.016	25.1	0.3	0.0
Electricity		216.798	217.372	216.436	18.3	-0.2	-0.4
Utility (piped) gas service		237.034	238.261	239.951	40.1	1.2	0.7
Household furnishings and operations		134.587		136.446	4.7	1.4
Apparel		108.908		112.289	2.3	3.1
Transportation		279.577		269.439	12.6	-3.6
Private transportation		288.074		278.119	12.7	-3.5
New and used motor vehicles(3)		133.753		134.622	7.9	0.6
New vehicles(1)		228.747		231.492	9.1	1.2
Used cars and trucks(1)		397.247		397.761	8.5	0.1
Motor fuel		455.409	425.128	386.377	30.8	-15.2	-9.1
Gasoline (all types)		449.633	419.723	381.473	30.7	-15.2	-9.1
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		446.230	415.096	376.553	30.6	-15.6	-9.3
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		451.238	430.274	393.961	31.9	-12.7	-8.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		438.754	418.867	385.578	31.3	-12.1	-7.9
Medical care		596.423		599.558	6.2	0.5
Recreation(3)		132.941		131.309	3.3	-1.2
Education and communication(3)		134.604		135.140	-0.8	0.4
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,080.349		1,104.177	1.4	2.2
Other goods and services		626.642		630.883	6.0	0.7
Commodity and service group
Commodities		223.610		221.715	11.1	-0.8
Commodities less food and beverages		192.032		186.860	10.5	-2.7
Nondurables less food and beverages		248.681		235.349	15.7	-5.4
Durables		131.990		132.741	5.0	0.6
Services		365.699		367.300	6.5	0.4
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		270.253		269.187	8.8	-0.4
All items less medical care		281.417		281.209	8.3	-0.1
Commodities less food		194.515		190.089	10.5	-2.3
Nondurables		264.350		260.582	13.8	-1.4
Nondurables less food		248.242		237.236	15.3	-4.4
Services less rent of shelter(2)		370.935		371.543	6.1	0.2
Services less medical care services		348.042		349.555	6.7	0.4
Energy		310.907	297.043	282.327	29.5	-9.2	-5.0
All items less energy		296.360		298.864	6.6	0.8
All items less food and energy		302.438		304.443	5.8	0.7
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.