Prices in the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.5 percent in September after increasing 0.2 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli attributed much of the increase to higher 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 rose 2.1 percent. The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.3 percent. (See table A and chart 1.) Price increases for shelter drove the 12-month change in both indexes. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index inched up 0.1 percent in September after remaining flat in August. Prices for food away from home increased 0.4 percent. The index for food at home declined 0.2 percent. Among groceries with lower prices were bananas, beef roasts, and coffee.

Over the year, the food index increased 1.6 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 2.2 percent, and prices for food at home advanced 1.1 percent.

Energy

After a 0.3-percent increase in August, the energy index jumped 5.7 percent, the largest increase since January 2014. Gasoline prices advanced 12.8 percent, driving the overall increase. Household energy prices rose 1.0 percent, with higher prices reported for electricity (0.6 percent) and fuel oil. Natural gas prices, on the other hand, were unchanged

From September 2016 to September 2017, energy prices rose 14.2 percent, led by a 29.2-percent increase in gasoline prices. Household energy prices rose 5.2 percent, with increases of 10.2 percent for natural gas and 1.1 percent for electricity.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent in September, following a 0.3-percent increase in August. Apparel prices, often up at this time of year, rose 2.8 percent. Education and communication increased 0.5 percent, with higher prices reported for college tuition and fees. Other goods and services also increased (0.6 percent). Shelter prices were flat. Within shelter, residential rent was unchanged, and owners’ equivalent rent rose 0.2 percent. By contrast, prices for household furnishings and operations (-1.0 percent) and for new and used motor vehicles declined.

For the year ended September 2017, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.3 percent. Shelter prices increased 2.4 percent. Prices advanced for recreation (3.2 percent), other goods and services (1.7 percent), and medical care (1.1 percent). On the other hand, prices for new and used motor vehicles, household furnishings and operations (-2.8 percent) and education and communication (-1.1 percent) declined.

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

Month	2012		2013		2014		2015		2016		2017
	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	0.4	2.8	0.5	2.2	0.9	1.9	0.1	-0.5	0.2	0.8	0.6	2.5
February	0.4	2.6	0.6	2.4	-0.2	1.1	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.6	0.3	2.6
March	0.6	2.6	0.1	1.9	0.4	1.3	0.2	-0.1	0.2	0.7	0.0	2.3
April	0.2	2.4	-0.2	1.4	0.0	1.6	0.1	0.0	0.4	1.0	0.1	2.0
May	0.1	1.8	0.1	1.4	0.5	1.9	0.4	-0.1	0.3	0.9	0.1	1.8
June	-0.1	1.6	0.3	1.8	0.0	1.7	0.2	0.1	0.2(R)	0.9(R)	0.2	1.8
July	-0.2	1.1	0.2	2.1	0.1	1.6	-0.1	-0.1	-0.1	1.0	-0.2	1.6
August	0.6	1.4	0.1	1.7	-0.2	1.3	0.1	0.1	0.2	1.1	0.2	1.7
September	0.4	1.6	0.3	1.6	0.0	1.0	0.2	0.3	0.2	1.0	0.5	2.1
October	-0.1	1.7	-0.6	1.1	-0.2	1.3	-0.1	0.4	0.1	1.2
November	0.0	2.0	0.1	1.2	-0.4	0.8	-0.2	0.6	0.2	1.6
December	-0.3	2.1	0.0	1.5	-0.5	0.3	-0.4	0.7	0.1	2.1
Footnotes: (R) = revised.

CPI-W

In September, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 265.291, up 0.7 percent over the month. The CPI-W rose 2.4 percent over the year.

The October 2017 Consumer Price Index for New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island is scheduled to be released Wednesday, November 15, 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 Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	July 2017	Aug. 2017	Sept. 2017	Sept. 2016	July 2017	Aug. 2017
Expenditure category
All items	268.051	268.657	270.059	2.1	0.7	0.5
All items (1967=100)	774.899	776.650	780.704
Food and beverages	260.865	260.948	261.175	1.5	0.1	0.1
Food	261.032	261.084	261.243	1.6	0.1	0.1
Food at home	252.610	252.606	252.197	1.1	-0.2	-0.2
Food away from home	279.985	280.119	281.109	2.2	0.4	0.4
Alcoholic beverages	254.156	254.669	255.792	0.4	0.6	0.4
Housing	292.019	292.898	292.867	2.3	0.3	0.0
Shelter	368.840	370.744	370.662	2.4	0.5	0.0
Rent of primary residence(1)	381.149	383.150	383.268	2.6	0.6	0.0
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)(2)	374.320	376.331	376.922	2.2	0.7	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)(2)	373.857	375.867	376.459	2.2	0.7	0.2
Fuels and utilities	191.358	189.107	190.718	4.8	-0.3	0.9
Household energy	183.578	181.001	182.804	5.2	-0.4	1.0
Energy services(1)	179.315	175.878	176.600	3.8	-1.5	0.4
Electricity(1)	189.160	185.424	186.545	1.1	-1.4	0.6
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	152.258	149.533	149.520	10.2	-1.8	0.0
Household furnishings and operations	109.606	109.195	108.094	-2.8	-1.4	-1.0
Apparel	122.042	128.373	132.011	-0.9	8.2	2.8
Transportation	211.441	211.533	217.462	5.2	2.8	2.8
Private transportation	197.831	199.166	204.868	6.2	3.6	2.9
Motor fuel	193.183	199.087	224.555	29.2	16.2	12.8
Gasoline (all types)	192.374	198.243	223.701	29.2	16.3	12.8
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)	190.888	197.110	223.226	30.7	16.9	13.2
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)	203.080	206.501	228.957	22.3	12.7	10.9
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)	204.816	208.204	229.001	20.4	11.8	10.0
Medical care	476.764	476.319	476.539	1.1	0.0	0.0
Recreation(5)	123.631	123.381	123.685	3.2	0.0	0.2
Education and communication(5)	142.300	141.397	142.094	-1.1	-0.1	0.5
Other goods and services	423.644	420.290	422.606	1.7	-0.2	0.6
Commodity and service group
All items	268.051	268.657	270.059	2.1	0.7	0.5
Commodities	185.878	187.098	189.498	1.8	1.9	1.3
Commodities less food and beverages	140.548	142.224	145.492	2.0	3.5	2.3
Nondurables less food and beverages	177.281	180.952	187.843	4.9	6.0	3.8
Durables	93.665	93.246	92.697	-3.4	-1.0	-0.6
Services	337.418	337.573	338.253	2.2	0.2	0.2
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	258.985	259.633	261.083	2.1	0.8	0.6
All items less shelter	228.127	228.207	230.219	1.8	0.9	0.9
Commodities less food	144.826	146.474	149.693	1.9	3.4	2.2
Nondurables	220.460	222.470	226.274	3.0	2.6	1.7
Nondurables less food	181.961	185.451	192.012	4.6	5.5	3.5
Services less rent of shelter(2)	314.170	312.425	313.950	1.8	-0.1	0.5
Services less medical care services	325.986	326.062	326.694	2.1	0.2	0.2
Energy	189.791	190.395	201.202	14.2	6.0	5.7
All items less energy	277.521	278.132	278.666	1.3	0.4	0.2
All items less food and energy	282.273	282.983	283.583	1.3	0.5	0.2
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.