Prices in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), ticked up 0.1 percent for the second consecutive month in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli attributed the December change to rising prices for shelter. (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 advanced 2.2 percent. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.4 percent, the highest rate posted since April 2012. (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 rose 0.5 percent after dropping 0.8 percent in November. Higher prices in four of the six grocery groups drove a 0.6-percent rise in the food-at-home index. Among the groceries with higher prices in December were bacon, breakfast sausage, and related products; eggs; and other bakery products. Prices for food away from home rose 0.4 percent.

Over the year, the food index increased 1.6 percent. Prices for food away from home were up 3.1 percent, and prices for food at home rose 0.4 percent.

Energy

The energy index was unchanged in December. Household energy prices declined 0.1 percent, with a 2.3-percent decline in electricity prices and a 2.2-percent rise in natural gas prices. Gasoline prices were flat.   

From December 2018 to December 2019, the energy index increased 0.8 percent. Gasoline prices rose 0.9 percent. Household energy prices were up 0.7 percent, with price increases for fuel oil and other fuels partially offset by declines in prices for natural gas (-0.9 percent) and electricity (-0.1 percent).

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy ticked up 0.1 percent in December. Shelter edged up 0.2 percent, led by higher prices for out-of-town lodging. Owners’ equivalent rent and residential rent each rose 0.1 percent. Among other categories with price increases were new and used motor vehicles (1.9 percent), motor vehicle insurance (1.0 percent), household furnishings and operations (0.8 percent), and recreation (0.7 percent). These increases were largely offset by a decline in public transportation, including airline fares, and a seasonal decline in apparel prices (-3.3 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.4 percent. A 2.2-percent increase in shelter prices included a 3.0-percent rise in residential rent and a 1.9-percent increase in owners’ equivalent rent. Medical care prices rose 4.5 percent. A 3.7-percent rise in prices for tuition, other school fees, and childcare contributed to a 3.4-percent increase in prices for education and communication. Prices for motor vehicle insurance and recreation rose 3.2 and 3.1 percent, respectively. In contrast, apparel prices declined 2.1 percent since last December.

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	0.0	1.7
August	-0.2	1.3	0.1	0.1	0.2	1.1	0.2	1.7	0.1	2.2	0.2	1.8
September	0.0	1.0	0.2	0.3	0.2	1.0	0.5	2.1	0.4	2.0	0.0	1.4
October	-0.2	1.3	-0.1	0.4	0.1	1.2	-0.2	1.8	-0.1	2.0	0.0	1.5
November	-0.4	0.8	-0.2	0.6	0.2	1.6	-0.1	1.6	-0.2	1.9	0.1	1.8
December	-0.5	0.3	-0.4	0.7	0.1	2.1	0.1	1.6	-0.2	1.6	0.1	2.2
Footnotes: (R) = revised.

CPI-W

In December, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 274.027, up 0.1 percent over the month. The CPI-W rose 2.1 percent over the year.

The January 2020 Consumer Price Index for New York-Newark-Jersey City is scheduled to be released on Thursday, February 13, 2020, 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-
	Oct. 2019	Nov. 2019	Dec. 2019	Dec. 2018	Oct. 2019	Nov. 2019
Expenditure category
All items	279.255	279.468	279.816	2.2	0.2	0.1
All items (1967=100)	807.287	807.902	808.908
Food and beverages	273.279	271.232	272.644	1.6	-0.2	0.5
Food	273.370	271.226	272.678	1.6	-0.3	0.5
Food at home	260.764	256.906	258.504	0.4	-0.9	0.6
Cereals and bakery products	305.650	301.352	302.844	1.1	-0.9	0.5
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	257.535	251.183	256.300	0.5	-0.5	2.0
Dairy and related products	229.767	228.754	227.681	1.4	-0.9	-0.5
Fruits and vegetables	334.425	331.159	334.575	-0.7	0.0	1.0
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	256.687	249.305	245.190	-0.5	-4.5	-1.7
Other food at home	227.025	225.520	226.983	0.8	0.0	0.6
Food away from home	298.679	298.940	300.220	3.1	0.5	0.4
Alcoholic beverages	267.412	266.733	267.591	1.2	0.1	0.3
Housing	303.491	304.498	305.331	2.0	0.6	0.3
Shelter	386.148	387.012	387.979	2.2	0.5	0.2
Rent of primary residence	402.619	404.275	404.797	3.0	0.5	0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	393.549	395.433	395.838	1.9	0.6	0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	393.061	394.943	395.348	1.9	0.6	0.1
Fuels and utilities	191.750	195.591	195.743	1.0	2.1	0.1
Household energy	182.209	186.271	186.140	0.7	2.2	-0.1
Energy services	172.674	176.586	175.579	-0.4	1.7	-0.6
Electricity	172.177	175.324	171.328	-0.1	-0.5	-2.3
Utility (piped) gas service	163.461	168.327	171.997	-0.9	5.2	2.2
Household furnishings and operations	109.011	108.530	109.437	1.0	0.4	0.8
Apparel	123.379	118.933	115.059	-2.1	-6.7	-3.3
Transportation	219.524	221.339	220.151	1.8	0.3	-0.5
Private transportation	205.575	206.397	208.085	1.9	1.2	0.8
New and used motor vehicles(3)	88.875	88.651	90.297	1.0	1.6	1.9
New vehicles(1)	201.972	202.117	202.882	0.6	0.5	0.4
Used cars and trucks(1)	266.558	264.906	264.946	0.2	-0.6	0.0
Motor fuel	212.834	212.725	212.729	0.9	0.0	0.0
Gasoline (all types)	211.818	211.705	211.706	0.9	-0.1	0.0
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	210.090	210.034	210.067	0.8	0.0	0.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	223.396	223.364	222.782	0.8	-0.3	-0.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	226.229	225.608	225.454	1.6	-0.3	-0.1
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	758.714	774.086	781.508	3.2	3.0	1.0
Medical care	518.374	518.443	519.528	4.5	0.2	0.2
Recreation(3)	126.975	127.234	128.159	3.1	0.9	0.7
Education and communication(3)	147.038	147.417	147.649	3.4	0.4	0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,241.481	1,241.715	1,241.750	3.7	0.0	0.0
Other goods and services	441.435	438.292	439.804	1.7	-0.4	0.3
Commodity and service group
All items	279.255	279.468	279.816	2.2	0.2	0.1
Commodities	191.387	189.674	189.876	0.7	-0.8	0.1
Commodities less food and beverages	142.574	141.116	140.753	-0.1	-1.3	-0.3
Nondurables less food and beverages	182.270	179.968	179.142	0.0	-1.7	-0.5
Durables	92.472	92.011	92.176	-0.3	-0.3	0.2
Services	353.071	354.608	355.073	2.7	0.6	0.1
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	268.873	269.092	269.408	2.0	0.2	0.1
All items less shelter	236.876	236.807	236.889	2.2	0.0	0.0
Commodities less food	147.204	145.761	145.433	0.0	-1.2	-0.2
Nondurables	229.035	226.803	227.011	0.9	-0.9	0.1
Nondurables less food	187.410	185.191	184.455	0.1	-1.6	-0.4
Services less rent of shelter(2)	328.421	330.752	330.667	3.4	0.7	0.0
Services less medical care services	339.026	340.558	340.973	2.4	0.6	0.1
Energy	196.399	198.918	198.837	0.8	1.2	0.0
All items less energy	289.276	289.262	289.655	2.3	0.1	0.1
All items less food and energy	294.023	294.338	294.570	2.4	0.2	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.