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 September, after edging down 0.2 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli said that declining energy prices offset higher prices for food and other items. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the year, the CPI-U increased 1.0 percent. (See table A and chart 1.) The 12-month percentage in September was the smallest rate of increase recorded since October 2009. The all items less food and energy index rose 1.4 percent.

Food

The food index increased 0.7 percent, following a 0.5-percent fall in August. Prices for food at home rose 0.9 percent, and groceries with higher September prices included bakery products, beef and veal, and fresh fruits. Prices for food away from home rose 0.4 percent, partly reflecting an increased in food prices at employee sites and schools.

Over the year, the food index increased 2.6 percent. At-home food prices rose 2.3 percent, and away-from-home food prices advanced 3.1 percent. (See table 1.)

Energy

The energy index decreased 2.4 percent, after declines of 3.2 percent in August and 0.9 percent in July. Gasoline prices dropped for the third consecutive month, falling 3.0 percent. A 2.4-percent reduction in electricity charges, along with lower prices for fuel oil, helped pull household energy prices down 1.9 percent. In contrast, prices for natural gas increased 0.3 percent.

For the year ended September 2014, energy prices fell 5.4 percent. Prices for gasoline were down 5.4 percent. Household energy prices also decreased 5.4 percent, with lower prices for electricity (-6.4 percent) and for natural gas (-6.2 percent).

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy ticked up 0.1 percent, after edging up 0.2 percent in August. A seasonal rise in apparel prices (4.1 percent) led index components with increases. Other categories with higher prices included medical care (0.3 percent) and other goods and services (0.8 percent). Largely offsetting these increases was a 0.2-percent decline in shelter prices, primarily attributable to reduced charges for out-of-town lodging. Lower prices were also reported for recreation (-0.6 percent) and for used cars and trucks.

From September 2013 to September 2014, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.4 percent. Apparel prices advanced 1.2 percent, and medical care prices rose 2.3 percent. A 2.5-percent rise in shelter prices in part reflected a 3.0-percent increase in residential rent.

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

Month	2009		2010		2011		2012		2013		2014
	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	0.2	1.5	0.2	2.4	0.3	1.5	0.4	2.8	0.5	2.2	0.9	1.9
February	0.5	1.6	0.0	1.8	0.5	2.1	0.4	2.6	0.6	2.4	-0.2	1.1
March	0.2	0.8	0.5	2.1	0.7	2.3	0.6	2.6	0.1	1.9	0.4	1.3
April	0.2	0.8	0.2	2.1	0.4	2.5	0.4	2.4	-0.2	1.4	0.0	1.6
May	0.2	-0.1	0.2	2.2	0.6	2.9	0.1	1.8	0.1	1.4	0.5	1.9
June	0.5	-0.6	-0.1	1.5	0.2	3.2	-0.1	1.6	0.3	1.8	0.0	1.7
July	0.2	-1.1	0.1	1.5	0.3	3.3	-0.2	1.1	0.2	2.1	0.1	1.6
August	0.3	-0.9	0.2	1.4	0.4	3.5	0.6	1.4	0.1	1.7	-0.2	1.3
September	0.1	-0.6	0.0	1.2	0.2	3.8	0.4	1.6	0.3	1.6	0.0	1.0
October	-0.1	0.0	0.2	1.5	-0.2	3.3	-0.1	1.7	-0.6	1.1
November	0.2	1.8	0.0	1.3	-0.3	3.0	0.0	2.0	0.1	1.2
December	-0.1	2.3	0.0	1.4	-0.4	2.7	-0.3	2.1	0.0	1.5

CPI-W

In September, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 256.945, up 0.1 percent over the month. The CPI-W increased 1.0 percent over the year.

The October 2014 Consumer Price Index for New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island is scheduled to be released on Thursday, November 20, 2014 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 88 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 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 87 urban areas across the country from about 4,000 housing units and approximately 26,000 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/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 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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