Prices in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), rose 0.5 percent in May, after declining 0.5 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli attributed the increase to higher prices for food and for other non-energy 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 increased 1.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.9 percent. Price increases for shelter drove the 12-month change in both indexes. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index rose 1.2 percent in May, after jumping 2.6 percent in April. Prices for food at home increased 1.5 percent, with higher prices reported for three of the six major grocery groups, led by a 5.3-percent rise in meats, poultry, fish, and eggs. Among the items in that group with May price increases were beef roasts, beef steaks, and chicken. Prices for food away from home rose 0.7 percent.

From May 2019 to May 2020, the food index advanced 5.6 percent. Prices for food at home climbed 7.1 percent, and prices for food away from home rose 3.7 percent.

Energy

The energy index declined 1.2 percent, after decreasing 5.2 percent in April. Gasoline prices declined 4.8 percent in May, following an 8.9-percent fall one month earlier. In contrast, prices for energy services increased 1.0 percent, reflecting a 1.7-percent rise in electricity charges that was partly offset by a 0.5-percent decline in natural gas prices.

For the year ended in May 2020, energy prices dropped 13.5 percent, primarily due to a 28.3-percent fall in gasoline prices. Prices for energy services advanced 2.6 percent, with higher prices for electricity (2.5 percent) and for natural gas (1.2 percent).  

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.5 percent in May, following a 0.6-percent decline in April. Prices rose for recreation (6.7 percent) and for new and used vehicles (3.1 percent). Within shelter, residential rent and owners’ equivalent rent each ticked up 0.1 percent. Medical care prices also inched up 0.1 percent. These increases were tempered by a seasonal decline in apparel prices (-3.6 percent), as well as by price reductions for motor vehicle insurance (-1.0 percent), household furnishings and operations (-0.8 percent), and other goods and services (-0.4 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.9 percent. A 2.0-percent increase in shelter prices included a 2.7-percent rise in owners’ equivalent rent and a 2.1-percent increase in residential rent. Recreation and medical care prices rose 10.7 and 5.2 percent, respectively. A 4.3-percent rise in prices for tuition, other school fees, and childcare contributed to a 2.5-percent increase in prices for education and communication. Partly offsetting these increases were declines for apparel (-7.7 percent) and for motor vehicle insurance (-10.5 percent).

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

Month	2015		2016		2017		2018		2019		2020
	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	0.1	-0.5	0.2	0.8	0.6	2.5	0.4	1.4	0.5	1.6	0.8	2.5
February	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.6	0.3	2.6	0.5	1.7	0.2	1.3	0.2	2.4
March	0.2	-0.1	0.2	0.7	0.0	2.3	0.0	1.7	0.3	1.6	-0.2	2.0
April	0.1	0.0	0.4	1.0	0.1	2.0	0.3	1.9	0.3	1.6	-0.5	1.1
May	0.4	-0.1	0.3	0.9	0.1	1.8	0.4	2.2	0.2	1.5	0.5	1.4
June	0.2	0.1	0.2(R)	0.9(R)	0.2	1.8	0.1	2.0	0.3	1.7
July	-0.1	-0.1	-0.1	1.0	-0.2	1.6	0.0	2.2	0.0	1.7
August	0.1	0.1	0.2	1.1	0.2	1.7	0.1	2.2	0.2	1.8
September	0.2	0.3	0.2	1.0	0.5	2.1	0.4	2.0	0.0	1.4
October	-0.1	0.4	0.1	1.2	-0.2	1.8	-0.1	2.0	0.0	1.5
November	-0.2	0.6	0.2	1.6	-0.1	1.6	-0.2	1.9	0.1	1.8
December	-0.4	0.7	0.1	2.1	0.1	1.6	-0.2	1.6	0.1	2.2
Footnotes: (R) = revised.

CPI-W

In May, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 276.413, up 0.6 percent over the month. The CPI-W rose 1.4 percent over the year.

The June 2020 Consumer Price Index for New York-Newark-Jersey City is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, July 14, 2020, 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 population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 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 75 urban areas across the country from about 5,000 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 (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-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA Core Based Statistical Area includes Bronx, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties in New York; Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, and Union Counties in New Jersey; and Pike County in Pennsylvania.

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