Prices in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), rose 0.3 percent in June after edging up 0.2 percent in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli attributed the rise to higher prices for energy, food, and other 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 1.7 percent. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.2 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 increased 0.6 percent after decreasing 0.2 percent during each of the prior two months. A 0.9-percent jump in prices for food at home led to the upturn, with price increases of at least 2.0 percent in three of the six grocery groups. Juices and drinks, cheese, and uncooked beef roasts were among the groceries with higher prices in June. Prices for food away from home rose 0.2 percent.

For the year ended in June 2019, the food index increased 1.7 percent. Food-away-from-home prices rose 2.2 percent, while food-at-home prices increased 1.3 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 1.4 percent, following increases of 1.7 percent in May and 1.9 percent in April. Prices for household energy climbed 4.9 percent, primarily due to an 8.9-percent seasonal jump in electricity charges. In contrast, gasoline prices fell 3.0 percent, following three consecutive months with price increases exceeding 5.0 percent.  

From June 2018 to June 2019, the energy index declined 4.1 percent. Area gasoline prices dropped 5.0 percent, and household energy prices were down 3.4 percent. Among prices for household energy items, natural gas and electricity were each down, -3.9 percent and -2.6 percent, respectively.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy inched up 0.1 percent, marking a sixth consecutive increase. Prices for used cars and trucks rose 1.0 percent, and medical care prices advanced 0.9 percent. A 0.3-percent rise in residential rent contributed to an uptick of 0.1 percent in prices for shelter. Partly offsetting these increases was a 0.2-percent decline in prices for education and communication.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 2.2 percent. A 2.4-percent increase in shelter prices included a 3.4-percent rise in residential rent and a 1.8-percent increase in owners’ equivalent rent. Medical care, with a 12-month increase of 5.2 percent, was the next largest contributor to the change in the index. A 3.4-percent rise in tuition, other school fees, and childcare contributed to a 1.9-percent increase in prices for education and communication. Recreation prices also rose 1.9 percent.

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

Month	2014		2015		2016		2017		2018		2019
	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	0.9	1.9	0.1	-0.5	0.2	0.8	0.6	2.5	0.4	1.4	0.5	1.6
February	-0.2	1.1	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.6	0.3	2.6	0.5	1.7	0.2	1.3
March	0.4	1.3	0.2	-0.1	0.2	0.7	0.0	2.3	0.0	1.7	0.3	1.6
April	0.0	1.6	0.1	0.0	0.4	1.0	0.1	2.0	0.3	1.9	0.3	1.6
May	0.5	1.9	0.4	-0.1	0.3	0.9	0.1	1.8	0.4	2.2	0.2	1.5
June	0.0	1.7	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	1.6	-0.1	-0.1	-0.1	1.0	-0.2	1.6	0.0	2.2
August	-0.2	1.3	0.1	0.1	0.2	1.1	0.2	1.7	0.1	2.2
September	0.0	1.0	0.2	0.3	0.2	1.0	0.5	2.1	0.4	2.0
October	-0.2	1.3	-0.1	0.4	0.1	1.2	-0.2	1.8	-0.1	2.0
November	-0.4	0.8	-0.2	0.6	0.2	1.6	-0.1	1.6	-0.2	1.9
December	-0.5	0.3	-0.4	0.7	0.1	2.1	0.1	1.6	-0.2	1.6
Footnotes: (R) = revised.

CPI-W In June, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 273.360, up 0.2 percent over the month. The CPI-W rose 1.5 percent over the year.

The July 2019 Consumer Price Index for New York-Newark-Jersey City is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, August 13, 2019, 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 Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	April 2019	May 2019	June 2019	June 2018	April 2019	May 2019
Expenditure category
All items	277.441	278.068	278.802	1.7	0.5	0.3
All items (1967=100)	802.042	803.857	805.977
Food and beverages	270.123	269.707	271.178	1.7	0.4	0.5
Food	270.294	269.643	271.257	1.7	0.4	0.6
Food at home	258.348	256.611	258.911	1.3	0.2	0.9
Cereals and bakery products	300.794	306.056	303.424	-0.8	0.9	-0.9
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	254.478	249.685	255.910	1.3	0.6	2.5
Dairy and related products	227.752	224.001	228.473	3.5	0.3	2.0
Fruits and vegetables	325.386	328.599	326.234	1.4	0.3	-0.7
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	255.104	251.206	261.808	3.5	2.6	4.2
Other food at home	229.749	226.441	225.216	0.1	-2.0	-0.5
Food away from home	294.575	295.465	296.138	2.2	0.5	0.2
Alcoholic beverages	263.215	266.044	265.516	1.5	0.9	-0.2
Housing	302.413	302.192	303.608	1.8	0.4	0.5
Shelter	384.220	384.085	384.598	2.4	0.1	0.1
Rent of primary residence	398.932	399.681	400.852	3.4	0.5	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	389.944	389.868	389.878	1.8	0.0	0.0
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	389.461	389.385	389.395	1.8	0.0	0.0
Fuels and utilities	192.664	190.433	198.596	-2.8	3.1	4.3
Household energy	183.483	181.053	189.944	-3.4	3.5	4.9
Energy services	174.095	171.555	181.158	-3.0	4.1	5.6
Electricity	175.302	172.359	187.778	-2.6	7.1	8.9
Utility (piped) gas service	162.164	160.395	160.454	-3.9	-1.1	0.0
Household furnishings and operations	109.450	110.371	110.192	1.7	0.7	-0.2
Apparel	120.552	122.042	122.340	0.4	1.5	0.2
Transportation	223.336	226.897	224.883	-0.7	0.7	-0.9
Private transportation	210.603	212.972	210.569	-1.2	0.0	-1.1
New and used motor vehicles(3)	91.015	90.026	89.297	-2.5	-1.9	-0.8
New vehicles(1)	204.534	204.301	202.513	0.8	-1.0	-0.9
Used cars and trucks(1)	270.612	267.819	270.613	1.1	0.0	1.0
Motor fuel	225.223	238.052	230.968	-5.0	2.6	-3.0
Gasoline (all types)	224.169	236.979	229.914	-5.0	2.6	-3.0
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	223.441	236.450	229.090	-5.2	2.5	-3.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	228.991	241.485	235.762	-4.8	3.0	-2.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	231.591	242.951	237.990	-3.7	2.8	-2.0
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	763.145	761.868	760.120	2.7	-0.4	-0.2
Medical care	504.551	505.462	510.146	5.2	1.1	0.9
Recreation(3)	125.593	126.044	126.225	1.9	0.5	0.1
Education and communication(3)	144.143	144.380	144.133	1.9	0.0	-0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,204.276	1,205.871	1,205.806	3.4	0.1	0.0
Other goods and services	433.891	435.631	436.126	0.7	0.5	0.1
Commodity and service group
All items	277.441	278.068	278.802	1.7	0.5	0.3
Commodities	191.104	192.610	192.396	0.1	0.7	-0.1
Commodities less food and beverages	143.619	145.914	144.943	-1.2	0.9	-0.7
Nondurables less food and beverages	183.761	187.698	186.153	-1.6	1.3	-0.8
Durables	92.979	93.358	93.064	-0.3	0.1	-0.3
Services	350.122	350.182	351.598	2.3	0.4	0.4
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	267.579	268.195	268.757	1.4	0.4	0.2
All items less shelter	235.082	236.055	236.896	1.2	0.8	0.4
Commodities less food	148.097	150.422	149.458	-1.1	0.9	-0.6
Nondurables	228.375	230.352	230.191	0.2	0.8	-0.1
Nondurables less food	188.594	192.480	190.987	-1.4	1.3	-0.8
Services less rent of shelter(2)	324.226	324.505	326.992	2.2	0.9	0.8
Services less medical care services	336.972	336.934	338.118	1.9	0.3	0.4
Energy	201.948	205.330	208.222	-4.1	3.1	1.4
All items less energy	286.722	287.082	287.606	2.1	0.3	0.2
All items less food and energy	291.529	292.048	292.408	2.2	0.3	0.1
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.