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News Release Information

24-1912-PHI
Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Consumer Price Index, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington – August 2024

Area prices were up 0.6 percent over the past 2 months, up 3.4 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), rose 0.6 percent for the 2 months ending in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A). Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that August’s rise was due to an increase in the all items less food and energy index (also rising 0.6 percent) influenced by higher prices for shelter and other goods and services. The food index was up 0.9 percent, and the energy index declined -1.2 percent. (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 increased 3.4 percent, led by the index for all items less food and energy, up 4.0 percent largely due to rising shelter prices. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices also rose, up 3.6 percent. The energy index decreased -4.0 percent, in part due to lower prices for gasoline. (See table 1). 

Food

In the two months ending in August, the food index advanced 0.9 percent, mostly due to the food at home index, which rose 1.1 percent. Leading the rise in grocery prices were cereals and bakery products, up 3.1 percent; and fruit and vegetables, up 2.1 percent after declining in the past two periods. Tempering the grocery index were decreased prices for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials, down -3.3 percent. For the same period, prices for food away from home increased 0.5 percent.

Over the year, food prices rose 3.6 percent, where prices for food away from home increased 4.7 percent and prices for food at home were up 2.9 percent. Mainly contributing to the increase for food at home was the meats, poultry, fish, and eggs index, up 6.8 percent. Prices also rose for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials, up 8.0 percent. Declining prices for fruits and vegetables (-0.7 percent) slightly tempered the rise in the grocery index.

Energy

The energy index decreased -1.2 percent for the 2 months ending in August. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices in the gasoline index (-2.9 percent), and the fuel oil index. For the same period, the electricity index went unchanged. Marking the smallest 2-month increase of the year, the prices for utility (piped) gas service advanced 0.3 percent.

From August 2023 to August 2024, energy prices declined -4.0 percent, led by a lower gasoline index and declining prices for fuel oil. Prices for gasoline decreased -11.6 percent, and prices for natural gas also decreased 1.5 percent. Slowing the overall energy index decline, prices for electricity were up 5.3 percent over-the-year.

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 rise was led by higher prices for shelter (1.0 percent) and other goods and services (1.5 percent). Within the shelter index, both the owners’ equivalent rent of residences index and the rent of primary residence index increased 0.6 percent. Other advances in the all items less food and energy index also included apparel (0.5 percent), medical care (0.2 percent), and recreation (0.2 percent). Prices for new and used motor vehicles remained unchanged. Mitigating the overall rise were lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-2.2 percent), education and communication (-0.6 percent), and alcoholic beverages (-0.8 percent).

During the past year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 4.0 percent, mainly driven by a 5.9-percent increase in the shelter index. Within shelter, the indexes for rent of primary residence rose 6.4 percent, owners’ equivalent rent of residences advanced 5.9 percent, and lodging away from home decreased. The recreation index rose 2.6 percent over the year, and the medical care index increased 1.5 percent for the same period. Other categories also had increases— prices for other goods and services were up 3.0 percent, prices for apparel advanced 0.5 percent, and prices for household furnishings and operations rose 0.8 percent. Prices for education and communication were unchanged and partially tempering the overall index increase was a decrease in prices for new and used motor vehicles, down -2.0 percent.

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 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month

February

1.0 2.6 0.8 1.0 1.5 7.3 2.0 6.9 1.6 3.4

April

-1.3 -0.1 1.2 3.5 2.2 8.4 0.1 4.7 0.7 4.1

June

0.6 0.1 1.9 4.9 2.3 8.8 0.7 3.1 0.3 3.6

August

0.8 0.4 0.6 4.6 0.0 8.1 0.8 3.9 0.6 3.4

October

0.0 0.8 1.0 5.6 0.6 7.8 0.2 3.5

December

0.0 1.1 0.9 6.6 -0.4 6.4 0.0 3.9

The October 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington area is scheduled to be released on November 13, 2024.


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, 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.

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.
2024
Jul.
2024
Aug.
2024
Aug.
2023
Jun.
2024
Jul.
2024

All items

314.328   316.061 3.4 0.6  

All items (1967 = 100)

908.076   913.084      

Food and beverages

301.174   303.494 3.5 0.8  

Food

303.882   306.539 3.6 0.9  

Food at home

307.039 307.358 310.453 2.9 1.1 1.0

Cereals and bakery products

408.259 418.543 420.999 2.5 3.1 0.6

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

344.392 342.780 349.195 6.8 1.4 1.9

Dairy and related products

235.964 239.753 242.061 3.1 2.6 1.0

Fruits and vegetables

293.049 295.426 299.330 -0.7 2.1 1.3

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

227.267 217.856 219.866 8.0 -3.3 0.9

Other food at home

292.920 294.865 295.640 0.1 0.9 0.3

Food away from home

291.154   292.647 4.7 0.5  

Alcoholic beverages

259.756   257.672 0.9 -0.8  

Housing

337.851   339.789 4.9 0.6  

Shelter

417.433 419.561 421.492 5.9 1.0 0.5

Rent of primary residence

393.168 394.195 395.714 6.4 0.6 0.4

Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)

429.041 430.551 431.781 5.9 0.6 0.3

Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)

429.041 430.551 431.781 5.9 0.6 0.3

Fuels and utilities

276.848   276.957 1.4 0.0  

Household energy

229.788 230.280 229.807 1.8 0.0 -0.2

Energy services

243.727 243.857 243.867 3.5 0.1 0.0

Electricity

249.455 249.401 249.390 5.3 0.0 0.0

Utility (piped) gas service

211.077 211.686 211.750 -1.5 0.3 0.0

Household furnishings and operations

149.084   145.874 0.8 -2.2  

Apparel

112.299   112.912 0.5 0.5  

Transportation

273.632   275.900 1.5 0.8  

Private transportation

287.447   290.459 2.5 1.0  

New and used motor vehicles(3)

133.709   133.768 -2.0 0.0  

New vehicles(1)

238.351   237.983 -0.5 -0.2  

Used cars and trucks(1)

342.372   337.777 -8.6 -1.3  

Motor fuel

320.656 325.045 311.435 -11.7 -2.9 -4.2

Gasoline (all types)

316.674 321.046 307.613 -11.6 -2.9 -4.2

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

311.509 316.156 302.024 -12.2 -3.0 -4.5

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

331.787 334.858 324.300 -9.0 -2.3 -3.2

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

328.839 331.565 322.499 -8.1 -1.9 -2.7

Medical care

598.605   599.776 1.5 0.2  

Recreation(3)

137.692   137.907 2.6 0.2  

Education and communication(3)

138.697   137.858 0.0 -0.6  

Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)

1,158.750   1,158.801 1.4 0.0  

Other goods and services

693.827   704.532 3.0 1.5  

Commodity and service group

Commodities

223.300   223.162 -0.2 -0.1  

Commodities less food and beverages

181.876   180.423 -2.6 -0.8  

Nondurables less food and beverages

227.183   225.926 -1.3 -0.6  

Durables

129.667   128.161 -4.5 -1.2  

Services

404.472   408.034 5.2 0.9  

Special aggregate indexes

All items less shelter

278.892   279.752 1.9 0.3  

All items less medical care

302.206   303.960 3.5 0.6  

Commodities less food

185.038   183.559 -2.5 -0.8  

Nondurables

264.847   265.479 1.2 0.2  

Nondurables less food

229.201   227.885 -1.3 -0.6  

Services less rent of shelter(2)

397.854   400.967 4.3 0.8  

Services less medical care services

389.528   393.185 5.6 0.9  

Energy

264.970 266.822 261.783 -4.0 -1.2 -1.9

All items less energy

322.676   324.801 3.9 0.7  

All items less food and energy

329.202   331.232 4.0 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.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, September 11, 2024