Prices in the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), ticked up 0.1 percent in October after edging up 0.2 in each of the two prior months, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli attributed the movement to higher prices for shelter and other non-food items that were largely offset by lower energy prices. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the year, the CPI-U advanced 1.2 percent. (See table A.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.6 percent. (See chart 1.) Higher prices for shelter drove the 12-month change in both indexes. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index inched down 0.1 percent in October, after edging up 0.2 percent in September. Prices for food at home declined 0.5 percent, reflecting, in part, lower prices for frozen and freeze-dried prepared foods, uncooked beef roasts, and some pork products. Prices for food away from home rose 0.3 percent.

Over the year, the food index dipped 0.2 percent, the first 12-month decline since February 2010. A 3.0-percent decline in prices for food at home outweighed a 3.6-percent rise in prices for food away from home.

Energy

The energy index dropped 1.4 percent over the month, reflecting a 4.6-percent decline in prices for household energy services. Following seasonal patterns, electricity prices fell 5.9 percent. Natural gas prices also decreased, 1.5 percent. In contrast, area prices for gasoline rose 1.9 percent.

For the year ended in October 2016, energy prices ticked down 0.1 percent. Prices for household energy services decreased 0.2 percent. A 0.8-percent decline in electricity prices was largely offset by a 0.7-percent rise in natural gas prices. Gasoline prices rose 0.6 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.2 percent in October. Shelter prices advanced 0.5 percent due to increases in residential rent (0.4 percent), owners’ equivalent rent (0.3 percent), and out-of-town lodging. Prices increased 0.2 percent for recreation. These increases were largely offset by lower prices for apparel (-1.9 percent), education and communication (-0.2 percent), and used cars and trucks. Prices for medical care and other goods and services were little changed.

From October 2015 to October 2016, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.6 percent. Shelter prices rose 2.7 percent; residential rent and owners’ equivalent rent were each up 2.8 percent. Prices for medical care rose 4.0 percent, and prices for other goods and services increased 2.4 percent. In contrast, apparel prices declined 1.4 percent.

Table A. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes (not seasonally adjusted)

Month	2011		2012		2013		2014		2015		2016
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.3	1.5	0.4	2.8	0.5	2.2	0.9	1.9	0.1	-0.5	0.2	0.8
February	0.5	2.1	0.4	2.6	0.6	2.4	-0.2	1.1	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.6
March	0.7	2.3	0.6	2.6	0.1	1.9	0.4	1.3	0.2	-0.1	0.2	0.7
April	0.4	2.5	0.2	2.4	-0.2	1.4	0.0	1.6	0.1	0.0	0.4	1.0
May	0.6	2.9	0.1	1.8	0.1	1.4	0.5	1.9	0.4	-0.1	0.3	0.9
June	0.2	3.2	-0.1	1.6	0.3	1.8	0.0	1.7	0.2	0.1	0.2(R)	0.9(R)
July	0.3	3.3	-0.2	1.1	0.2	2.1	0.1	1.6	-0.1	-0.1	-0.1	1.0
August	0.4	3.5	0.6	1.4	0.1	1.7	-0.2	1.3	0.1	0.1	0.2	1.1
September	0.2	3.8	0.4	1.6	0.3	1.6	0.0	1.0	0.2	0.3	0.2	1.0
October	-0.2	3.3	-0.1	1.7	-0.6	1.1	-0.2	1.3	-0.1	0.4	0.1	1.2
November	-0.3	3.0	0.0	2.0	0.1	1.2	-0.4	0.8	-0.2	0.6
December	-0.4	2.7	-0.3	2.1	0.0	1.5	-0.5	0.3	-0.4	0.7
Footnotes: (R) = revised.

CPI-W

In October, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 258.995, unchanged over the month. The CPI-W rose 1.2 percent over the year.

The November 2016 Consumer Price Index for New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island is scheduled to be released Thursday, December 15, 2016, 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 89 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 28 percent of the total 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 87 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 24,000 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 (1982-84) that equals 100.0. An increase of 16.5 percent, for example, is shown as 116.5. This change can also be expressed in dollars as follows: the price of a base period "market basket" of goods and services in the CPI has risen from $10 in 1982-84 to $11.65. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch17.pdf.

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 New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Conn.-Pa. consolidated area covered in this release is comprised of Bronx, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties in New York State; Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren Counties in New Jersey; Fairfield County and parts of Litchfield, Middlesex, and New Haven Counties in Connecticut; and Pike County in Pennsylvania.

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