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News Release Information

18-568-NEW
Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (617) 565-4141

Consumer Price Index, New York-Newark-Jersey City – March 2018

Area prices unchanged over the month and up 1.7 percent over the year

Prices in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), were unchanged in March after increasing 0.5 percent in February and 0.4 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli explained that declining prices for energy and food prices were offset by prices increases for other expenditures. (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 ticked down 0.1 percent after advancing 0.3 percent in February. Prices for food at home declined 0.4 percent, with lower prices reported for five of the six food categories, including nonalcoholic beverages, dairy products, and fruits and vegetables. Prices for food away from home rose 0.3 percent for the second consecutive month.

Over the year, the food index increased 1.7 percent, with prices 2.4 percent higher for away-from-home food and 1.1 percent higher for at-home food.

Energy

After increasing for four months, the energy index retreated, declining 0.3 percent in March. Leading the decline was a 2.5-percent drop in gasoline prices. Natural gas (-1.3 percent) and fuel oil also declined, but a 4.1-percent jump in electricity prices led to a 1.3-percent rise in household energy prices.

From March 2017 to March 2018, energy prices rose 8.3 percent. Gasoline prices increased 11.3 percent, and household energy prices advanced 6.3 percent. Within household energy, natural gas prices were up 6.9 percent, and electricity prices, 4.0 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy was unchanged in March. Shelter prices rose 0.4 percent, with higher prices for residential rent (0.3 percent), owners’ equivalent rent (0.2 percent), and lodging away from home. Prices jumped 1.9 percent for used cars and trucks. Medical care prices edged up 0.2 percent, reflecting higher prices for nonprescription drugs and for eyeglasses and eye care. These increases were offset by price reductions for recreation (-1.5 percent), apparel (-1.1 percent), and household furnishings and operations (-0.8 percent).

For the year ended in March 2018, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.2 percent. Shelter prices increased 2.4 percent, with residential rent rising 2.2 percent. Prices rose 2.0 percent for medical care and 1.9 percent for other goods and services. In contrast, prices for apparel were down 2.8 percent, and prices for household furnishings and operations were down 1.9 percent.

Table A. New York-Newark-Jersey City CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes (not seasonally adjusted)
Month201320142015201620172018
1-month12-month1-month12-month1-month12-month1-month12-month1-month12-month1-month12-month

January

0.52.20.91.90.1-0.50.20.80.62.50.41.4

February

0.62.4-0.21.10.30.10.20.60.32.60.51.7

March

0.11.90.41.30.2-0.10.20.70.02.30.01.7

April

-0.21.40.01.60.10.00.41.00.12.0

May

0.11.40.51.90.4-0.10.30.90.11.8

June

0.31.80.01.70.20.10.2(R)0.9(R)0.21.8

July

0.22.10.11.6-0.1-0.1-0.11.0-0.21.6

August

0.11.7-0.21.30.10.10.21.10.21.7

September

0.31.60.01.00.20.30.21.00.52.1

October

-0.61.1-0.21.3-0.10.40.11.2-0.21.8

November

0.11.2-0.40.8-0.20.60.21.6-0.11.6

December

0.01.5-0.50.3-0.40.70.12.10.11.6

Footnotes:
(R) = revised.

CPI-W

In March, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 267.077, unchanged over the month. The CPI-W rose 1.9 percent over the year.

The April 2018 Consumer Price Index for New York-Newark-Jersey City is scheduled to be released Friday, May 11, 2018, 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, N.Y.-N.J.-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.

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-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, not seasonally adjusted
(1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and GroupIndexesPercent change from-
Jan.
2018
Feb.
2018
March
2018
March
2017
Jan.
2018
Feb.
2018

Expenditure category

All items

270.771272.214272.1961.70.50.0

All items (1967=100)

782.762786.934786.880   

Food and beverages

263.111263.903263.6371.60.2-0.1

Food

263.302264.022263.8021.70.2-0.1

Food at home

253.655254.308253.3501.1-0.1-0.4

Cereals and bakery products

292.946300.689300.000 2.4-0.2

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

253.174249.423253.558 0.21.7

Dairy and related products

224.221225.287221.533 -1.2-1.7

Fruits and vegetables

325.573321.201317.788 -2.4-1.1

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

249.631254.564248.601 -0.4-2.3

Other food at home

219.943222.146221.633 0.8-0.2

Food away from home

284.097284.932285.7652.40.60.3

Alcoholic beverages

256.039257.818256.9301.20.3-0.3

Housing

294.441295.424296.5112.40.70.4

Shelter

373.008373.327374.7632.40.50.4

Rent of primary residence(2)

385.646385.822386.9262.20.30.3

Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)(3)

380.330380.101380.7452.40.10.2

Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)(3)

379.859379.631380.2732.40.10.2

Fuels and utilities

191.088194.936197.0985.73.11.1

Household energy

182.982187.073189.4306.33.51.3

Energy services(2)

172.198176.391179.9365.04.52.0

Electricity(2)

179.634176.228183.3664.02.14.1

Utility (piped) gas service(2)

150.751166.446164.2346.98.9-1.3

Household furnishings and operations

107.887109.215108.345-1.90.4-0.8

Apparel

124.274130.676129.303-2.84.0-1.1

Transportation

217.367219.772218.4343.10.5-0.6

Private transportation

205.115206.512205.8304.00.3-0.3

New and used motor vehicles(4)

91.71592.15392.746 1.10.6

New vehicles(1)

203.592202.626201.228 -1.2-0.7

Used cars and trucks(1)

261.664263.913269.033 2.81.9

Motor fuel

213.141218.170212.77311.3-0.2-2.5

Gasoline (all types)

212.127217.138211.76111.3-0.2-2.5

Gasoline, unleaded regular(5)

211.171216.253210.76011.8-0.2-2.5

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)

220.049224.374219.5748.4-0.2-2.1

Gasoline, unleaded premium(5)

220.711225.310220.7298.00.0-2.0

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

744.437744.437743.892 -0.1-0.1

Medical care

483.364484.758485.7562.00.50.2

Recreation(4)

124.808125.324123.4790.2-1.1-1.5

Education and communication(4)

142.116141.632141.485-0.8-0.4-0.1

Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)

1,165.9391,165.9271,165.931 0.00.0

Other goods and services

422.261427.330426.6461.91.0-0.2

Commodity and service group

All items

270.771272.214272.1961.70.50.0

Commodities

188.865190.987190.0121.00.6-0.5

Commodities less food and beverages

143.694146.296145.0560.40.9-0.8

Nondurables less food and beverages

183.595188.317185.7921.21.2-1.3

Durables

93.31793.46193.696-1.30.40.3

Services

340.099341.151341.7832.10.50.2

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

261.539262.985262.9221.70.50.0

All items less shelter

230.297232.256231.5991.30.6-0.3

Commodities less food

147.953150.546149.3090.50.9-0.8

Nondurables

224.987227.966226.4481.50.6-0.7

Nondurables less food

188.043192.617190.1751.21.1-1.3

Services less rent of shelter(3)

315.263317.163316.9111.60.5-0.1

Services less medical care services

328.255329.308329.9182.00.50.2

Energy

197.004201.510200.9288.32.0-0.3

All items less energy

279.838280.988281.0251.30.40.0

All items less food and energy

284.608285.833285.9101.20.50.0

Footnotes
(1) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.
(2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator.
(3) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base.
(4) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
(5) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(6) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.

Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, April 11, 2018