The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Northeast inched up 0.1 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the recent increase was due to generally modest increases in the food index and the energy index, up 0.6 and 1.1 percent, respectively. The all items less food and energy index was unchanged since July 2021; that major group, as well as the food group, showed a divide with some components increasing while others had marked declines. (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 rose 4.4 percent, in line with the 4.6 increase in June. (See chart 1 and table A.) The August increase was due almost entirely to the rise in the all items less food and energy index, up 3.2 percent. The energy index and the food index also rose since August 2020, up 23.3 and 3.2 percent, respectively. (See table 1.)

  

Food

The food index increased 0.6 percent since July. Prices were higher for both food at home, up 0.5 percent, and food away from home, up 0.7 percent over the month, although the food at home increase showed a slowing compared with April/June while the food away from home index accelerated over the same period. Within the food at home component, prices were higher for items including uncooked ground beef, potatoes, and frozen fruits and vegetables while prices declined for the overall dairy and fruits and vegetables indexes.

From August 2020 to August 2021, the food index increased 3.2 percent. Prices for food away from home increased over the year, up 4.6 percent – the largest such increase since February 2009; those for food at home increased 2.2 percent.

Energy

The energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, rose 1.1 percent in August. The increase was largely due to higher prices for electricity (1.7 percent) and gasoline (1.0 percent). Prices were also higher for utility (piped) gas service (2.1 percent) over the month.

The energy index rose 23.3 percent since August 2020. The increase was due largely to a rise in prices for gasoline, up 41.2 percent, about the same as June’s 40.9 percent. Prices for electricity and utility (piped) gas service also advanced over the year, up 6.8 (the highest since early 2014) and 13.9 percent (the largest 12-month increase since February 2017), respectively.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy was unchanged since July. Higher prices for apparel (3.6 percent) and education and communication (0.6 percent) were offset by lower prices for shelter (-0.3 percent), public transportation, and used cars and trucks (-1.3 percent) among others.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.2 percent since August 2020. Prices were higher for apparel (up 3.6 percent) over the year and for new and used motor vehicles (16.0 percent), particularly those for used cars and trucks (32.8 percent). Prices also increased for shelter (2.0 percent), among other categories, while medical care prices declined, down 0.5 percent.

Geographic divisions

Additional price indexes are now available for the two divisions of the Northeast. Over the month, the all items CPI-U increased in the New England division, up 0.2 percent, and the Middle Atlantic division, up 0.1 percent.

Over the year, prices rose in the Middle Atlantic division, up 4.5 percent. The all items index also rose in the New England division (4.1 percent). (See table B.)

The Consumer Price Index for September 2021 is scheduled to be released Wednesday, October 13, 2021, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

Technical Note

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 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; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

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	Jun. 2021	Jul. 2021	Aug. 2021	Aug. 2020	Jun. 2021	Jul. 2021
All items		284.741	285.220	285.630	4.4	0.3	0.1
All items (December 1977 = 100)		448.380	449.135	449.780
Food and beverages		280.344	281.387	282.961	3.2	0.9	0.6
Food		281.235	282.295	283.919	3.2	1.0	0.6
Food at home		264.804	265.218	266.563	2.2	0.7	0.5
Cereals and bakery products		311.423	311.674	315.297	0.8	1.2	1.2
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		279.493	282.667	284.185	6.4	1.7	0.5
Dairy and related products		241.121	238.850	237.133	-1.4	-1.7	-0.7
Fruits and vegetables		327.151	323.565	323.268	0.4	-1.2	-0.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		180.734	180.452	182.802	2.2	1.1	1.3
Other food at home		232.778	234.659	236.327	2.0	1.5	0.7
Food away from home		309.388	311.464	313.536	4.6	1.3	0.7
Alcoholic beverages		267.640	268.452	269.351	3.1	0.6	0.3
Housing		302.584	303.139	302.869	3.2	0.1	-0.1
Shelter		375.342	376.327	375.128	2.0	-0.1	-0.3
Rent of primary residence		374.726	374.519	375.419	1.2	0.2	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)		386.046	386.814	387.353	1.6	0.3	0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)		385.713	386.478	387.018	1.6	0.3	0.1
Fuels and utilities		240.778	239.796	242.377	10.2	0.7	1.1
Household energy		211.595	210.453	213.103	11.4	0.7	1.3
Energy services		210.822	209.217	212.975	8.9	1.0	1.8
Electricity		219.525	215.374	218.971	6.8	-0.3	1.7
Utility (piped) gas service		178.375	181.757	185.538	13.9	4.0	2.1
Household furnishings and operations		128.661	128.856	129.555	6.4	0.7	0.5
Apparel		124.080	122.306	126.770	4.3	2.2	3.6
Transportation		231.271	230.214	229.115	16.2	-0.9	-0.5
Private transportation		226.435	226.236	226.958	17.2	0.2	0.3
New and used motor vehicles(2)		116.471	115.034	114.688	16.0	-1.5	-0.3
New vehicles		151.770	152.527	154.521	6.8	1.8	1.3
New cars and trucks(2)(3)		105.221	105.721	107.112	6.9	1.8	1.3
New cars(3)		141.661	142.862	144.901	7.6	2.3	1.4
Used cars and trucks		208.303	210.163	207.501	32.8	-0.4	-1.3
Motor fuel		259.857	265.259	267.920	40.9	3.1	1.0
Gasoline (all types)		258.909	264.305	266.967	41.2	3.1	1.0
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)		256.252	261.690	264.312	42.5	3.1	1.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)		274.820	280.232	283.329	35.3	3.1	1.1
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)		266.320	271.233	274.025	32.6	2.9	1.0
Motor vehicle insurance(5)		612.063	612.211	615.703	-0.7	0.6	0.6
Medical care		546.769	548.685	549.119	-0.5	0.4	0.1
Medical care commodities		378.829	381.269	379.075	-3.7	0.1	-0.6
Medical care services		596.012	597.750	599.010	0.2	0.5	0.2
Professional services		418.971	421.041	421.814	3.5	0.7	0.2
Recreation(2)		130.720	131.624	131.560	1.0	0.6	0.0
Education and communication(2)		150.022	150.709	151.672	1.9	1.1	0.6
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)		1,318.737	1,322.994	1,336.247	2.4	1.3	1.0
Other goods and services		519.842	526.208	529.842	3.2	1.9	0.7
Commodity and service group
Commodities		204.080	205.055	206.479	8.3	1.2	0.7
Commodities less food and beverages		163.004	163.903	165.194	12.2	1.3	0.8
Nondurables less food and beverages		202.858	204.001	206.549	11.5	1.8	1.2
Durables		115.538	116.158	116.435	13.0	0.8	0.2
Services		362.155	362.161	361.603	2.4	-0.2	-0.2
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		253.507	253.808	254.791	5.7	0.5	0.4
All items less medical care		273.206	273.621	274.030	4.9	0.3	0.1
Commodities less food		166.858	167.760	169.049	11.7	1.3	0.8
Nondurables		241.174	242.274	244.363	6.7	1.3	0.9
Nondurables less food		206.640	207.763	210.212	10.8	1.7	1.2
Services less rent of shelter(1)		360.217	359.172	359.289	2.8	-0.3	0.0
Services less medical care services		346.043	345.929	345.246	2.6	-0.2	-0.2
Energy		231.222	232.729	235.385	23.3	1.8	1.1
All items less energy		293.243	293.635	293.846	3.2	0.2	0.1
All items less food and energy		297.241	297.517	297.478	3.2	0.1	0.0
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.