Prices in the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), inched up 0.1 percent in April, after a 0.2-percent increase in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that higher prices for shelter were largely offset by lower prices for apparel and energy. (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 was unchanged. (See table A.) In contrast, the all items less food and energy index advanced 1.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

 

Food

The food index edged up 0.3 percent in April, after no change in March. The recent increase was due to higher prices for food at home, up 0.5 percent. Rising grocery prices were led by citrus fruits and carbonated drinks. Prices for food away from home were unchanged over the month.

For the year ended April 2015, the food index rose 2.9 percent. Prices for food at home also increased 2.9 percent, and prices for food away from home advanced 3.0 percent.

Energy

The energy index fell 0.4 percent, marking the ninth decline in ten months. Lower prices for fuel oil and natural gas were responsible for the April decrease. Natural gas prices were down 4.7 percent, their fourth consecutive decline. Prices for electricity rose 0.9 percent after an 11.6-percent drop in March. Gasoline prices increased 1.4 percent.

From April 2014 to April 2015, the energy index fell 21.0 percent, due primarily to lower prices for gasoline, down 32.8 percent. Among the household energy components, prices dropped 25.3 percent for natural gas, but rose 0.3 percent for electricity.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy inched up 0.1 percent, its fourth consecutive increase. Prices for shelter rose 0.3 percent, reflecting higher prices for owners’ equivalent rent (0.3 percent). The index for residential rent was unchanged. Prices for intracity public transportation increased, as did prices for used cars and trucks. Moderating the advance in the all items less food and energy group was a seasonal decline in apparel prices, down 2.0 percent.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.6 percent. Prices for shelter increased 2.3 percent, with residential rent up 2.5 percent. Higher prices were also recorded for medical care (3.8 percent) and for apparel (3.7 percent).

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

Month	2010		2011		2012		2013		2014		2015
	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	2.4	0.3	1.5	0.4	2.8	0.5	2.2	0.9	1.9	0.1	-0.5
February	0.0	1.8	0.5	2.1	0.4	2.6	0.6	2.4	-0.2	1.1	0.3	0.1
March	0.5	2.1	0.7	2.3	0.6	2.6	0.1	1.9	0.4	1.3	0.2	-0.1
April	0.2	2.1	0.4	2.5	0.2	2.4	-0.2	1.4	0.0	1.6	0.1	0.0
May	0.2	2.2	0.6	2.9	0.1	1.8	0.1	1.4	0.5	1.9
June	-0.1	1.5	0.2	3.2	-0.1	1.6	0.3	1.8	0.0	1.7
July	0.1	1.5	0.3	3.3	-0.2	1.1	0.2	2.1	0.1	1.6
August	0.2	1.4	0.4	3.5	0.6	1.4	0.1	1.7	-0.2	1.3
September	0.0	1.2	0.2	3.8	0.4	1.6	0.3	1.6	0.0	1.0
October	0.2	1.5	-0.2	3.3	-0.1	1.7	-0.6	1.1	-0.2	1.3
November	0.0	1.3	-0.3	3.0	0.0	2.0	0.1	1.2	-0.4	0.8
December	0.0	1.4	-0.4	2.7	-0.3	2.1	0.0	1.5	-0.5	0.3

CPI-W

In April, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 254.699, up 0.1 percent over the month. The CPI-W decreased 0.5 percent over the year.

The May 2015 Consumer Price Index for New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island is scheduled to be released Thursday, June 18, 2015, 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/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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