Prices in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased by 0.6 percent for the 2 months ending in October 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that this increase was led by a 1.3 percent increase in the shelter index as both the owners equivalent rent of residences and rent of primary residence indexes rose. Overall, increases in the all items less food and energy index and in the food index were slightly offset by a decrease in the energy 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 7.8 percent, a somewhat more moderate pace than in August (8.8 percent). (See chart 1 and table A.)The energy price index increase of 22.2 percent over the year was the lowest since last year and well below the peak of 46.0 percent in June. The index for all items less food and energy rose 5.8 percent, the same as in August but food prices continued to rise as they advanced 13.1 percent, the fastest 12-month rate in that series since 1974. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 2.5 percent for the 2 months ending in October. Within the food index, the 3.4-percent rise in prices for food away from home marked the highest 2-month increase in that index since June 1980. In contrast, the 2.0 percent increase in prices for food at home was the smallest since a peak of 3.7 percent in February. Among the grocery categories, the other food at home index was up only 2.6 percent after a 6.7 percent peak in August but the fruits and vegetables index was up 4.3 percent after declines in June and August.

Over the year, food prices rose 13.1 percent —the largest increase in 48 years— part of a consistent pattern of 12-month growth since June 2018. Prices for food at home advanced 16.6 percent since a year ago, slightly down from the 16.9 percent increase in August. All major grocery categories were up over the year, led by price increases for other food at home (22.7 percent). Prices for food away from home were up 7.8 percent, the largest index increase in 40 years.  

Energy

The energy index continued to moderate as it decreased 1.7 percent for the 2 months ending in October, following the 9.2 percent decline in August. The decrease was mainly due to continuing lower prices for gasoline (-10.6 percent). The electricity index decreased 0.3 percent for the same period while the utility (piped) gas services index was up 2.7 percent. Both gasoline and utility (piped) gas had peak increases in June, up 19.2 and 15.6 percent, respectively. The fuel oil index advanced as well.

Energy prices increased 22.2 percent over the year, the lowest bimonthly rise since last year. All major energy categories were up over the year; the electricity index increased 18.7 percent and the index for utility (piped) gas service was up 37.5 percent. The gasoline index increased 11.1 percent over the year, the lowest since the February 2021 rise of 9.6 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.6 percent in the latest 2-month period, the lowest increase so far in 2022. Higher prices for shelter (1.3 percent), public transportation, and recreation (1.1 percent) were partially offset by lower indexes for new and used motor vehicles (-1.4 percent), alcoholic beverages (down 5.4 percent—the largest decline since the series began in 1976), and apparel (-1.4 percent). The shelter index increase was largely due to a 1.2-percent rise in the index for owners’ equivalent rent of residences while the rent of primary residence index was up 1.5 percent.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 5.8 percent; since October 2021, 12-month increases have ranged from 5.6 to 6.3 percent. The recent increase was mainly driven by a 7.4-percent increase in the shelter index, the largest since 2002. Within shelter, the index for owners’ equivalent rent of residences advanced 7.2 percent, following a pattern of acceleration so far in 2022. The medical care index continued to rise, up 6.4 percent over the year, the largest increase since February. The new and used motor vehicles index continued to moderate, up only 5.2 percent, down from the series high of 28.8 percent in February 2022.

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	0.6	7.8
December	-0.7	1.0	-0.3	2.4	0.0	1.1	0.9	6.6

The December 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington area is scheduled to be released on January 12, 2023.

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	Aug. 2022	Sep. 2022	Oct. 2022	Oct. 2021	Aug. 2022	Sep. 2022
All items		294.130		295.978	7.8	0.6
All items (1967 = 100)		849.726		855.065
Food and beverages		282.714		287.944	12.5	1.8
Food		283.470		290.526	13.1	2.5
Food at home		293.263	296.926	299.016	16.6	2.0	0.7
Cereals and bakery products		405.123		406.353	20.3	0.3
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		338.689		340.429	12.4	0.5
Dairy and related products		234.292		233.041	15.4	-0.5
Fruits and vegetables		288.696		301.199	14.7	4.3
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		188.076		196.714	10.2	4.6
Other food at home		278.724		285.874	22.7	2.6
Food away from home		261.602		270.383	7.8	3.4
Alcoholic beverages		264.976		250.626	3.9	-5.4
Housing		304.107		308.836	9.1	1.6
Shelter		370.783	373.102	375.426	7.4	1.3	0.6
Rent of primary residence		345.241	348.014	350.260	7.1	1.5	0.6
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)		379.360	381.977	383.823	7.2	1.2	0.5
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)		379.360	381.977	383.823	7.2	1.2	0.5
Fuels and utilities		270.792		282.518	27.5	4.3
Household energy		224.244	227.801	236.122	31.3	5.3	3.7
Energy services		229.016	230.975	230.924	24.8	0.8	0.0
Electricity		216.436	220.742	215.887	18.7	-0.3	-2.2
Utility (piped) gas service		239.951	237.305	246.455	37.5	2.7	3.9
Household furnishings and operations		136.446		137.373	3.9	0.7
Apparel		112.289		110.662	1.6	-1.4
Transportation		269.439		264.032	8.4	-2.0
Private transportation		278.119		270.915	7.5	-2.6
New and used motor vehicles(3)		134.622		132.684	5.2	-1.4
New vehicles(1)		231.492		233.374	5.5	0.8
Used cars and trucks(1)		397.761		371.763	2.1	-6.5
Motor fuel		386.377	344.327	345.483	11.2	-10.6	0.3
Gasoline (all types)		381.473	339.881	340.948	11.1	-10.6	0.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		376.553	334.370	335.985	10.6	-10.8	0.5
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		393.961	357.618	354.261	13.9	-10.1	-0.9
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		385.578	351.148	348.560	14.4	-9.6	-0.7
Medical care		599.558		601.113	6.4	0.3
Recreation(3)		131.309		132.715	3.5	1.1
Education and communication(3)		135.140		135.368	-0.6	0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,104.177		1,108.409	1.9	0.4
Other goods and services		630.883		619.874	3.9	-1.7
Commodity and service group
Commodities		221.715		221.868	9.1	0.1
Commodities less food and beverages		186.860		185.049	7.1	-1.0
Nondurables less food and beverages		235.349		231.011	11.3	-1.8
Durables		132.741		132.791	2.7	0.0
Services		367.300		370.752	7.1	0.9
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		269.187		269.976	8.0	0.3
All items less medical care		281.209		283.067	7.9	0.7
Commodities less food		190.089		187.867	7.0	-1.2
Nondurables		260.582		260.797	12.0	0.1
Nondurables less food		237.236		232.176	10.8	-2.1
Services less rent of shelter(2)		371.543		373.623	6.6	0.6
Services less medical care services		349.555		353.201	7.4	1.0
Energy		282.327	271.379	277.635	22.2	-1.7	2.3
All items less energy		298.864		301.327	6.7	0.8
All items less food and energy		304.443		306.184	5.8	0.6
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.