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Wednesday, July 12, 2023
Prices in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.7 percent in June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that a 1.6-percent rise in the shelter index was predominantly responsible for the overall increase although it was partially offset by 2-month declines in several indexes including medical care. Shelter similarly led the all items less food and energy index rise of 0.9 percent. The energy index advanced 0.8 percent, whereas the food index reported a 0.1-percent decline. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)
The CPI-U was up 3.1 percent over the year and the index for all items less food and energy was mainly responsible, up 4.6 percent, due to rising shelter prices. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices were up 6.5 percent. The pace of decline in the energy index quickened with June's 12-month decline of 15.3 percent outstripping the April drop of 3.6 percent. (See table 1.)
Food prices decreased by 0.1 percent for the 2 months ending in June. The food at home index drove the decline, down 0.5 percent, although there were increases for each decline among its components. Leading the decrease was meats, poultry, fish and eggs, down 4.5 percent due in part to falling prices for chicken and eggs— the first index decline of the year and largest since August 2020 (-7.2 percent). Prices for other food at home were down 1.1 percent and the fruits and vegetable index fell 0.7 percent due to lower prices for citrus fruits. Among the rest of the grocery categories, nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials rose 3.7 percent; the cereals and bakery products index advanced 2.4 percent; and prices for dairy and related products were up 0.2 percent. Food away from home prices nearly offset the grocery index with a 0.5 percent increase.
Over the year, food prices rose 6.5 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 6.3 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home rose 6.8 percent. Most of the major grocery categories were up over the year. Leading the increase was other food at home (up 11.1 percent). As well as cereals and bakery products, only up 8.4 percent — the smallest increase since December 2021. Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials rose 7.3 percent, dairy and related product prices increased 9.1 percent and prices for fruits and vegetables advanced 1.9 percent. Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs was the only category to decline, down 0.1 percent, the first index decline since June 2021.
EnergyAs prices rose 0.8 percent for the 2 months ending in June, the energy index ended its bi-monthly decline trend that began in August 2022. The increase was mainly due to rising prices in the electricity index (5.2 percent). The gasoline index increased 0.3 percent, while prices for utility (piped) gas service fell 4.0 percent for the same period.
Energy prices decreased 15.3 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for the gasoline index (-27.8 percent). Fuel oil prices declined as well. Prices paid for natural gas service were down 9.4 percent during the past year, whereas prices for the electricity index were up 9.4 percent.
All items less food and energyThe index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.9 percent in the latest 2-month period. The rise was led by higher prices for shelter (1.6 percent) due largely to the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index (up 1.3 percent), followed by rent of primary residence (up 1.1 percent), and rising prices for lodging away from home. Prices rose for new and used motor vehicles, up 1.5 percent due to a 4.3-percent increase in used cars and trucks. Other major categories in the all items less food and energy index also increased: apparel was up 1.8 percent, other goods and services up 0.8 percent, and education and communication up 0.3 percent. Partially offsetting the overall index rise were declines in medical care (-0.9 percent), household furnishings and operations (-1.0 percent), and public transportation.
Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 4.6 percent. The recent increase was mainly driven by a 7.2-percent increase in the shelter index. Within shelter, the index for owners’ equivalent rent of residences advanced 7.3 percent and rent of primary residence rose 7.6 percent. Other categories also saw increases such as the other goods and services index, up 11.3 percent. The new and used motor vehicles index, rose 1.2 percent, and within that index, new vehicles advanced 4.2 percent and used cars and trucks declined 5.1 percent.
The August 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington area is scheduled to be released on September 13, 2023.
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, 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 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.
Expenditure category | Indexes | Percent change from | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Historical data | Apr. 2023 | May 2023 | Jun. 2023 | Jun. 2022 | Apr. 2023 | May 2023 | |
All items | 301.225 | 303.446 | 3.1 | 0.7 | |||
All items (1967 = 100) | 870.222 | 876.638 | |||||
Food and beverages | 293.595 | 293.403 | 6.4 | -0.1 | |||
Food | 296.037 | 295.722 | 6.5 | -0.1 | |||
Food at home | 304.500 | 303.063 | 303.060 | 6.3 | -0.5 | 0.0 | |
Cereals and bakery products | 410.733 | 416.718 | 420.737 | 8.4 | 2.4 | 1.0 | |
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs | 341.875 | 328.998 | 326.407 | -0.1 | -4.5 | -0.8 | |
Dairy and related products | 244.492 | 245.093 | 244.999 | 9.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | |
Fruits and vegetables | 306.952 | 300.447 | 304.917 | 1.9 | -0.7 | 1.5 | |
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1) | 197.713 | 202.937 | 205.063 | 7.3 | 3.7 | 1.0 | |
Other food at home | 293.423 | 293.984 | 290.087 | 11.1 | -1.1 | -1.3 | |
Food away from home | 275.697 | 277.082 | 6.8 | 0.5 | |||
Alcoholic beverages | 256.278 | 257.956 | 4.7 | 0.7 | |||
Housing | 317.022 | 320.882 | 5.8 | 1.2 | |||
Shelter | 388.601 | 391.969 | 394.690 | 7.2 | 1.6 | 0.7 | |
Rent of primary residence | 362.512 | 364.250 | 366.473 | 7.6 | 1.1 | 0.6 | |
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2) | 396.895 | 398.959 | 401.961 | 7.3 | 1.3 | 0.8 | |
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2) | 396.895 | 398.959 | 401.961 | 7.3 | 1.3 | 0.8 | |
Fuels and utilities | 267.964 | 270.444 | -3.3 | 0.9 | |||
Household energy | 220.802 | 219.498 | 223.376 | -4.3 | 1.2 | 1.8 | |
Energy services | 230.031 | 231.037 | 235.649 | 3.2 | 2.4 | 2.0 | |
Electricity | 225.436 | 226.150 | 237.156 | 9.4 | 5.2 | 4.9 | |
Utility (piped) gas service | 223.635 | 225.241 | 214.732 | -9.4 | -4.0 | -4.7 | |
Household furnishings and operations | 143.852 | 142.447 | 5.8 | -1.0 | |||
Apparel | 108.417 | 110.360 | 1.3 | 1.8 | |||
Transportation | 264.597 | 267.233 | -4.4 | 1.0 | |||
Private transportation | 272.570 | 277.689 | -3.6 | 1.9 | |||
New and used motor vehicles(3) | 133.318 | 135.336 | 1.2 | 1.5 | |||
New vehicles(1) | 237.672 | 238.459 | 4.2 | 0.3 | |||
Used cars and trucks(1) | 361.470 | 376.927 | -5.1 | 4.3 | |||
Motor fuel | 328.036 | 327.126 | 329.023 | -27.8 | 0.3 | 0.6 | |
Gasoline (all types) | 323.785 | 322.907 | 324.799 | -27.8 | 0.3 | 0.6 | |
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4) | 319.556 | 318.537 | 320.482 | -28.2 | 0.3 | 0.6 | |
333.184 | 333.469 | 335.533 | -25.6 | 0.7 | 0.6 | ||
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4) | 329.010 | 328.984 | 330.389 | -24.7 | 0.4 | 0.4 | |
Medical care | 597.993 | 592.397 | -0.7 | -0.9 | |||
Recreation(3) | 134.502 | 134.754 | 1.4 | 0.2 | |||
Education and communication(3) | 135.412 | 135.788 | 0.9 | 0.3 | |||
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1) | 1,108.544 | 1,114.433 | 3.2 | 0.5 | |||
Other goods and services | 691.829 | 697.167 | 11.3 | 0.8 | |||
Commodity and service group | |||||||
Commodities | 221.118 | 221.657 | -0.9 | 0.2 | |||
Commodities less food and beverages | 181.812 | 182.631 | -4.9 | 0.5 | |||
Nondurables less food and beverages | 222.999 | 223.495 | -10.1 | 0.2 | |||
Durables | 133.052 | 134.006 | 1.5 | 0.7 | |||
Services | 381.500 | 385.219 | 5.3 | 1.0 | |||
Special aggregate indexes | |||||||
All items less shelter | 272.072 | 272.686 | 0.9 | 0.2 | |||
All items less medical care | 288.630 | 291.155 | 3.5 | 0.9 | |||
Commodities less food | 184.915 | 185.760 | -4.5 | 0.5 | |||
Nondurables | 259.297 | 259.460 | -1.8 | 0.1 | |||
Nondurables less food | 225.184 | 225.747 | -9.1 | 0.3 | |||
Services less rent of shelter(2) | 381.520 | 382.298 | 3.1 | 0.2 | |||
Services less medical care services | 365.079 | 369.323 | 6.1 | 1.2 | |||
Energy | 261.248 | 260.035 | 263.378 | -15.3 | 0.8 | 1.3 | |
All items less energy | 308.537 | 310.794 | 4.9 | 0.7 | |||
All items less food and energy | 313.744 | 316.439 | 4.6 | 0.9 | |||
Footnotes |
Last Modified Date: Wednesday, July 12, 2023