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News Release Information

17-433-NEW
Friday, April 14, 2017

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (617) 565-4141

Consumer Price Index, New York-Northern New Jersey – March 2017

Area prices unchanged over the month and 2.3 percent over the year

Prices in the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), were flat in March, after rising 0.3 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli explained that declining energy prices were offset by price increases for food and other items. (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 2.3 percent. The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.8 percent. (See table A and chart 1.) Higher prices for shelter drove the 12-month change in both indexes. (See table 1.)

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, March 2014–March 2017
Food

The food index rose 0.5 percent over the month, following a 0.1-percent decline in February and a 0.6-percent increase in January. Prices for food away from home jumped 0.8 percent, while prices for food at home rose 0.3 percent. Groceries items with higher prices in March included ham, cheese, and snacks.

Over the year, the food index increased 1.3 percent, with food-away-from-home prices rising 2.9 percent. Food-at-home prices were unchanged.

Energy

The energy index declined 1.4 percent in March, after rising in each of the previous four months. Falling gasoline prices led the downturn (-2.3 percent). Household energy prices also declined (-0.8 percent). Within household energy, electricity prices declined 1.2 percent, and natural gas prices, 0.4 percent.

For the year ended in March 2017, energy prices advanced 13.0 percent. Gasoline prices climbed 27.4 percent, and household energy prices rose 5.3 percent. Within household energy, natural gas increased 11.2 percent, while electricity prices declined 0.7 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy was unchanged in March. Prices for apparel, often at this time of year, increased 2.0 percent. Prices also advanced for medical care (0.4 percent) and shelter (0.1 percent). Within shelter, price increases were reported for lodging away from home and residential rent (0.2 percent), while owners’ equivalent rent was unchanged. Household furnishings and operations, on the other hand, posted a 0.4-percent decline. Other offsetting prices included a 1.3-percent decline in the education and communication index, in part due to lower prices for land-line telephone services, and lower prices for new vehicles.

From March 2016 to March 2017, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.8 percent. Shelter prices increased 2.8 percent. Within shelter, owners’ equivalent rent and residential rent each rose 2.5 percent. Medical care prices advanced 4.2 percent, and recreation prices increased 3.3 percent. Household furnishings and operations prices, by contrast, declined 2.3 percent.

Table A. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes (not seasonally adjusted)
Month201220132014201520162017
1-month12-month1-month12-month1-month12-month1-month12-month1-month12-month1-month12-month

January

0.42.80.52.20.91.90.1-0.50.20.80.62.5

February

0.42.60.62.4-0.21.10.30.10.20.60.32.6

March

0.62.60.11.90.41.30.2-0.10.20.70.02.3

April

0.22.4-0.21.40.01.60.10.00.41.0  

May

0.11.80.11.40.51.90.4-0.10.30.9  

June

-0.11.60.31.80.01.70.20.10.2(R)0.9(R)  

July

-0.21.10.22.10.11.6-0.1-0.1-0.11.0  

August

0.61.40.11.7-0.21.30.10.10.21.1  

September

0.41.60.31.60.01.00.20.30.21.0  

October

-0.11.7-0.61.1-0.21.3-0.10.40.11.2  

November

0.02.00.11.2-0.40.8-0.20.60.21.6  

December

-0.32.10.01.5-0.50.3-0.40.70.12.1  

Footnotes:
(R) = revised.
 

CPI-W

In March, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 262.165, unchanged over the month. The CPI-W rose 2.4 percent over the year.

The April 2017 Consumer Price Index for New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island is scheduled to be released Friday, May 12, 2017, 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.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals 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, New York-Northern N.J.-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)(not seasonally adjusted)
Item and GroupIndexesPercent change from-
Jan.
2017
Feb.
2017
March
2017
March
2016
Jan.
2017
Feb.
2017
 

Expenditure category

 
 

All items

266.917267.662267.5822.30.20.0

All items (1967=100)

771.621773.774773.542   
 

Food and beverages

258.304258.137259.4241.20.40.5

Food

258.298258.088259.4981.30.50.5

Food at home

249.820249.874250.6890.00.30.3

Food away from home

277.261276.661278.9742.90.60.8

Alcoholic beverages

253.983254.398254.0000.10.0-0.2
 

Housing

289.262289.614289.6202.60.10.0

Shelter

365.684365.599366.0302.80.10.1

Rent of primary residence(1)

377.224377.592378.5232.50.30.2

Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)(2)

372.132372.060371.8962.5-0.10.0

Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)(2)

371.656371.598371.4312.5-0.10.0

Fuels and utilities

184.792187.826186.4304.80.9-0.7

Household energy

176.339179.619178.1345.31.0-0.8

Energy services(1)

169.309173.010171.4303.01.3-0.9

Electricity(1)

174.823178.298176.237-0.70.8-1.2

Utility (piped) gas service(1)

150.348154.239153.58311.22.2-0.4

Household furnishings and operations

111.015110.939110.465-2.3-0.5-0.4
 

Apparel

127.022130.424133.0451.44.72.0
 

Transportation

212.861213.382211.9123.9-0.4-0.7

Private transportation

200.128199.648197.8634.9-1.1-0.9

Motor fuel

199.975195.510191.12127.4-4.4-2.2

Gasoline (all types)

199.139194.680190.28527.4-4.4-2.3

Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)

197.956193.165188.51928.4-4.8-2.4

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)

208.242205.484202.50423.5-2.8-1.5

Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)

209.641207.121204.31821.1-2.5-1.4
 

Medical care

474.449474.262476.2284.20.40.4
 

Recreation(5)

120.828123.301123.2623.32.00.0
 

Education and communication(5)

144.450144.602142.675-0.6-1.2-1.3
 

Other goods and services

416.991417.807418.8401.20.40.2
 

Commodity and service group

 
 

All items

266.917267.662267.5822.30.20.0

Commodities

187.433187.427188.1692.10.40.4

Commodities less food and beverages

143.918143.987144.4342.90.40.3

Nondurables less food and beverages

182.215182.479183.5756.30.70.6

Durables

95.23995.10894.884-3.0-0.4-0.2

Services

334.211335.546334.8382.40.2-0.2
 

Special aggregate indexes

 
 

All items less medical care

257.902258.684258.5192.20.2-0.1

All items less shelter

227.812228.898228.6092.00.3-0.1

Commodities less food

148.104148.183148.6072.80.30.3

Nondurables

221.876221.937223.1433.40.60.5

Nondurables less food

186.601186.875187.8845.80.70.5

Services less rent of shelter(2)

310.830313.742311.7791.90.3-0.6

Services less medical care services

322.981324.290323.5612.20.2-0.2

Energy

187.773188.161185.55313.0-1.2-1.4

All items less energy

276.461277.245277.4011.70.30.1

All items less food and energy

281.488282.446282.3911.80.30.0

Footnotes
(1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator.
(2) Index is on a December 1982=100 base.
(3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
(5) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
 

Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.
The New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA consolidated area comprises the five boroughs of New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, and Orange Counties in New York State; Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Monmouth, Middlesex, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren Counties in New Jersey; Fairfield County and parts of Litchfield, New Haven, and Middlesex Counties in Connecticut; and Pike County in Pennsylvania.
 

 

Last Modified Date: Friday, April 14, 2017