Prices in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), rose 0.4 percent in December, following a 0.3-percent decline in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that higher energy prices contributed to the upturn. (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 1.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices rose 4.1 percent and shelter prices, 1.3 percent. Energy prices declined 4.9 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.7 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index increased 0.3 percent in December, after edging down 0.2 percent in November. Prices for food away from home rose 0.4 percent. At-home food prices rose 0.2 percent, with three of the six major grocery groups recording price increases.

Over the year, the food index was up 4.1 percent, with rising prices for food away from home (4.6 percent) and for food at home (3.7 percent).

Energy

The energy index rose 3.4 percent in December, following a 0.6-percent increase in November. Household energy prices rose 3.4 percent, with higher prices for electricity (4.6 percent) partially offset by lower prices for natural gas (-0.8 percent). Gasoline prices were up 3.5 percent.

From December 2019 to December 2020, energy prices declined 4.9 percent, primarily due to a 14.6-percent fall in gasoline prices. Household energy prices were up 1.6 percent, driven by higher electricity prices (9.3 percent) which were partially offset by lower prices for natural gas (-2.6 percent).

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.2 percent in December, after a 0.4-percent November decline. Other goods and services, up 3.4 percent, and household furnishings and operations, up 2.3 percent, drove the overall category increase.

For the year ended in December 2020, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.7 percent. A 1.3-percent rise in shelter prices included increases of 1.6 percent for owners’ equivalent and 1.3 percent for residential rent. Prices for medical care rose 3.2 percent, recreation rose 3.8 percent, and new and used motor vehicles rose 5.3 percent.

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

Month	2015		2016		2017		2018		2019		2020
	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	0.1	-0.5	0.2	0.8	0.6	2.5	0.4	1.4	0.5	1.6	0.8	2.5
February	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.6	0.3	2.6	0.5	1.7	0.2	1.3	0.2	2.4
March	0.2	-0.1	0.2	0.7	0.0	2.3	0.0	1.7	0.3	1.6	-0.2	2.0
April	0.1	0.0	0.4	1.0	0.1	2.0	0.3	1.9	0.3	1.6	-0.5	1.1
May	0.4	-0.1	0.3	0.9	0.1	1.8	0.4	2.2	0.2	1.5	0.5	1.4
June	0.2	0.1	0.2(R)	0.9(R)	0.2	1.8	0.1	2.0	0.3	1.7	0.1	1.3
July	-0.1	-0.1	-0.1	1.0	-0.2	1.6	0.0	2.2	0.0	1.7	0.5	1.7
August	0.1	0.1	0.2	1.1	0.2	1.7	0.1	2.2	0.2	1.8	-0.1	1.4
September	0.2	0.3	0.2	1.0	0.5	2.1	0.4	2.0	0.0	1.4	0.4	1.9
October	-0.1	0.4	0.1	1.2	-0.2	1.8	-0.1	2.0	0.0	1.5	-0.2	1.7
November	-0.2	0.6	0.2	1.6	-0.1	1.6	-0.2	1.9	0.1	1.8	-0.3	1.4
December	-0.4	0.7	0.1	2.1	0.1	1.6	-0.2	1.6	0.1	2.2	0.4	1.6
Footnotes: (R) = revised.

CPI-W

In December, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 278.844, up 0.4 percent over the month. The CPI-W rose 1.8 percent over the year.

The January 2021 Consumer Price Index for New York-Newark-Jersey City is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, February 10, 2021, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measures 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 U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. 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 6,000 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; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000.  Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods 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-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-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.

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