Prices in the Northeast Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased by 0.1 percent in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the May increase was due to a 0.3-percent rise in the all items less food and energy index, mainly due to higher shelter prices. The food index and the energy index both decreased, down 0.1 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively. (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 increased 3.1 percent, the smallest over-the-year increase since March 2021, and well below the recent peak of 7.6 percent in June 2022.  The May increase was mainly due to a 4.3-percent rise in the all items less food and energy index which was led by increases within the shelter component, as was the over-the-month rise. (See chart 1 and table A.) This is the third consecutive month that the 12-month change in the all items index has been lower than the all items less food and energy index. The food index continued moderating, rising only 6.2 percent (down from a peak of 10.3 percent in October), while the energy index decreased 13.7 percent, down for the third consecutive month after over 2 years of 12-month increases which peaked at 44.2 percent in June 2022. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Northeast region, May 2020–May 2023

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
May 2020	0.6	1.4
Jun 2020	0.8	1.3
Jul 2020	1.1	1.6
Aug 2020	1.1	1.6
Sep 2020	1.2	1.5
Oct 2020	1.1	1.5
Nov 2020	1.1	1.5
Dec 2020	1.4	1.6
Jan 2021	1.1	1.1
Feb 2021	1.2	0.8
Mar 2021	2.1	1.3
Apr 2021	3.3	2.5
May 2021	3.9	3.0
Jun 2021	4.6	3.9
Jul 2021	4.3	3.5
Aug 2021	4.4	3.2
Sep 2021	4.6	3.2
Oct 2021	5.4	3.7
Nov 2021	6.0	4.1
Dec 2021	5.9	4.3
Jan 2022	6.3	4.6
Feb 2022	6.6	5.0
Mar 2022	7.3	5.0
Apr 2022	7.2	4.9
May 2022	7.5	4.6
Jun 2022	7.6	4.4
Jul 2022	7.3	4.3
Aug 2022	7.4	5.0
Sep 2022	7.2	5.4
Oct 2022	6.9	5.2
Nov 2022	6.4	4.7
Dec 2022	6.1	4.8
Jan 2023	6.0	4.9
Feb 2023	5.9	5.1
Mar 2023	4.3	4.5
Apr 2023	3.8	4.2
May 2023	3.1	4.3

In May, the food index was down 0.1 percent, the first decline since February 2021, as prices for food at home decreased 0.4 percent. (See table 1.) Within the food at home category, half of the categories had declines while the other half rose. Lower prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs were mostly responsible for the overall decrease as they were down 1.6 percent (the largest percent decrease in the index since July 2020). Prices for other food at home declined 0.7 percent and dairy and related products were down 1.2 percent. The categories that were up included nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (up 1.1 percent), fruits and vegetables (up 0.6 percent), and cereals and bakery products (up 0.1 percent). The food away from home index rose 0.4 percent over the month.

From May 2022 to May 2023, the food index increased 6.2 percent. Prices for food at home rose 5.2 percent while prices for food away from home rose 8.0 percent. All grocery categories but one were up over the year but continued to moderate. The 7.5-percent rise in the other food at home index broke a yearlong streak of double digit percent increases ranging from 10.2 to 14.0 percent. Cereals and bakery product prices were up 11.1 percent, the smallest rise since last April. The meats, poultry, fish, and eggs index edged down 0.1 percent, the first over-the-year decline since May 2021.

The energy index decreased for the fourth month in a row, down 1.8 percent since April as all energy categories except for gasoline continued to decline. The utility (piped) gas service index was down 5.4 percent, electricity decreased 2.2 percent, and fuel oil prices also declined. Gasoline was up 1.3 percent over the month, following a 4.5-percent increase in April.

Over the year, energy prices continued to drop, down 13.7 percent, the largest decline since May 2020. The decrease was mainly due to 21.2-percent lower gasoline prices, the fourth month in a row of declines after 24 months of increases peaking at 60.0 percent last June. The fuel oil index also decreased. Prices for utility (piped) gas service were down 8.4 percent, the largest decrease since February 2016. The only index to increase over the year was electricity, which rose 5.4 percent. This rise in the electricity index was the smallest since December 2021.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent in May, primarily due to a matching rise in the shelter index. Within shelter, owners’ equivalent rent of residences contributed the most to the increase and advanced 0.4 percent. Also in the shelter category, rent of primary residence had a 0.3 percent increase. The index for new and used motor vehicles was up 0.9 percent mainly due to a 3.3-percent rise in prices for used cars and trucks. Prices for new vehicles increased 0.3 percent over the month. The only categories to decrease in May were household furnishings and operations (down 0.7 percent) and education and communication (down 0.1 percent). 

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy was up 4.3 percent, also driven by the shelter index, which rose 6.2 percent.  In the shelter category, the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index increased 6.1 percent and rent of primary residence advanced 6.7 percent, similar to the increases for the past 2 months. The new and used motor vehicles index was up 3.8 percent as new vehicle prices increased 5.2 percent but prices for used cars and trucks decreased 4.0 percent. Medical care prices also declined, down 1.4 percent for the second month in a row, as prices for medical care services declined 2.4 percent, also the same as April. 

Additional price indexes are available for the two divisions of the Northeast. Over the month, the all items CPI-U index for the Middle Atlantic division increased 0.3 percent. The CPI-U for the New England division decreased 0.2 percent.

Over the year, the all items index advanced 3.3 percent in the Middle Atlantic division and 2.4 percent in the New England division. (See table B.)

The June 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Northeast Region is scheduled to be released on July 12, 2023.

The Consumer Price Index for the Northeast Region is published 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, 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.

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, Northeast Region, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from
	Historical data	Mar. 2023	Apr. 2023	May 2023	May 2022	Mar. 2023	Apr. 2023
All items		311.243	311.848	312.241	3.1	0.3	0.1
All items (December 1977 = 100)		490.113	491.065	491.685
Food and beverages		321.324	321.924	321.736	6.1	0.1	-0.1
Food		323.698	324.220	323.855	6.2	0.0	-0.1
Food at home		306.434	306.734	305.619	5.2	-0.3	-0.4
Cereals and bakery products		382.573	384.795	385.236	11.1	0.7	0.1
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		311.801	310.927	306.081	-0.1	-1.8	-1.6
Dairy and related products		281.180	279.655	276.175	5.2	-1.8	-1.2
Fruits and vegetables		351.421	356.141	358.228	1.5	1.9	0.6
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		216.027	213.149	215.425	8.9	-0.3	1.1
Other food at home		279.136	279.586	277.743	7.5	-0.5	-0.7
Food away from home		352.173	353.192	354.585	8.0	0.7	0.4
Alcoholic beverages		288.614	290.272	292.473	5.3	1.3	0.8
Housing		333.279	333.309	332.726	4.6	-0.2	-0.2
Shelter		404.754	406.734	408.046	6.2	0.8	0.3
Rent of primary residence		407.727	409.454	410.567	6.7	0.7	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)		417.564	419.513	421.154	6.1	0.9	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)		417.206	419.161	420.801	6.1	0.9	0.4
Fuels and utilities		301.409	292.031	282.613	-4.7	-6.2	-3.2
Household energy		271.169	261.072	250.929	-6.7	-7.5	-3.9
Energy services		265.174	255.735	247.494	0.7	-6.7	-3.2
Electricity		269.856	263.170	257.285	5.4	-4.7	-2.2
Utility (piped) gas service		237.091	223.256	211.267	-8.4	-10.9	-5.4
Household furnishings and operations		144.868	144.516	143.445	3.5	-1.0	-0.7
Apparel		138.005	134.380	135.489	3.8	-1.8	0.8
Transportation		251.864	256.154	259.172	-0.7	2.9	1.2
Private transportation		249.439	253.727	256.389	-0.5	2.8	1.0
New and used motor vehicles(2)		124.647	126.095	127.291	3.8	2.1	0.9
New vehicles		173.452	174.076	174.665	5.2	0.7	0.3
New cars(3)		164.982	165.168	165.757	5.0	0.5	0.4
Used cars and trucks		194.785	203.997	210.671	-4.0	8.2	3.3
Motor fuel		287.636	300.236	303.850	-21.5	5.6	1.2
Gasoline (all types)		286.289	299.268	303.138	-21.2	5.9	1.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)		281.283	294.705	298.557	-22.0	6.1	1.3
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)		313.001	323.773	328.078	-18.1	4.8	1.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)		309.669	319.443	323.264	-15.6	4.4	1.2
Medical care		561.165	560.352	560.953	-1.4	0.0	0.1
Medical care commodities		397.262	400.255	401.928	4.0	1.2	0.4
Medical care services		609.273	607.307	607.582	-2.4	-0.3	0.0
Professional services		430.906	430.162	430.747	0.9	0.0	0.1
Recreation(2)		138.262	138.529	138.683	1.7	0.3	0.1
Education and communication(2)		154.764	154.437	154.225	1.3	-0.3	-0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)		1,379.610	1,379.770	1,384.923	3.1	0.4	0.4
Other goods and services		586.037	587.742	591.711	7.5	1.0	0.7
Commodity and service group
Commodities		227.286	227.857	228.148	0.2	0.4	0.1
Commodities less food and beverages		178.130	178.661	179.134	-3.4	0.6	0.3
Nondurables less food and beverages		227.294	227.633	228.369	-6.7	0.5	0.3
Durables		123.046	123.631	123.873	0.2	0.7	0.2
Services		391.922	392.562	393.054	4.8	0.3	0.1
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		278.942	279.029	279.077	1.5	0.0	0.0
All items less medical care		300.259	300.930	301.315	3.5	0.4	0.1
Commodities less food		182.231	182.797	183.320	-3.1	0.6	0.3
Nondurables		273.743	274.211	274.496	0.2	0.3	0.1
Nondurables less food		230.870	231.290	232.116	-5.8	0.5	0.4
Services less rent of shelter(1)		390.861	389.951	389.495	3.2	-0.3	-0.1
Services less medical care services		376.926	377.749	378.256	5.7	0.4	0.1
Energy		279.181	277.641	272.659	-13.7	-2.3	-1.8
All items less energy		318.113	318.911	319.776	4.6	0.5	0.3
All items less food and energy		319.151	320.004	321.090	4.3	0.6	0.3
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.