Prices in the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), edged up 0.2 percent in August after decreasing 0.2 percent in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli said the August increase reflected higher prices for shelter and apparel. (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 1.7 percent. The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.2 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 was flat in August, following a 0.2-percent July increase. Average prices for food at home were unchanged, with higher prices for groceries such as canned fruits and vegetables, counterbalanced by lower prices for items such as other beverage materials, including tea. Prices for food away from home were also flat. 

Over the year, the food index increased 1.7 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 2.1 percent, and prices for food at home advanced 1.4 percent. 

Energy

The energy index rose 0.3 percent after a 1.9-percent decline in July. Prices increased for gasoline (3.1 percent) and for fuel oil. By contrast, household energy prices declined, with lower charges for electricity (-2.0 percent) and natural gas (-1.8 percent). 

From August 2016 to August 2017, energy prices rose 8.7 percent, led by a 15.9-percent increase in gasoline prices. Household energy prices rose 4.4 percent, with increases of 9.9 percent for natural gas and 0.6 percent for electricity. 

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent in August, following a 0.2-percent decline in July. Shelter prices rose 0.5 percent. Within shelter, residential and owners’ equivalent rent also reported 0.5-percent increases—the highest increases in nearly two years. Apparel prices, often up at this time of year, jumped 5.2 percent. On the other hand, prices for public transportation declined, with lower prices reported for airline fares. Among other items with lower prices in August were household furnishings and operations (-0.4 percent), education and communication (-0.6 percent), and other goods and services (-0.8 percent). 

For the year ended August 2017, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.2 percent. Shelter prices increased 2.5 percent. Prices advanced for recreation (3.2 percent), medical care (1.5 percent), and other goods and services (1.4 percent). By contrast, prices for household furnishings and operations decreased 1.6 percent, and prices for apparel and for education and communication each declined 1.1 percent.

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
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 August, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 263.489, up 0.3 percent over the month. The CPI-W rose 2.0 percent over the year.

The September 2017 Consumer Price Index for New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island is scheduled to be released Friday, October 13, 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.