Prices in the Honolulu area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.7 percent for the two months ending in May 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the May increase was influenced by higher prices for gasoline, shelter, and electricity. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 2.1 percent.  (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices increased 3.9 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of electricity. The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.8 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.5 percent for the two months ending in May. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home advanced 0.8 percent, and prices for food away from home rose 0.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices moved up 3.1 percent. Prices for food away from home advanced 4.2 percent since a year ago, and prices for food at home rose 2.1 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 7.5 percent for the two months ending in May. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (8.7 percent). Prices for natural gas service jumped 11.9 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 5.9 percent for the same period.

Energy prices increased 3.9 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for electricity (9.7 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service increased 6.7 percent, but prices for gasoline decreased 0.4 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.2 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for both shelter (0.4 percent) and education and communication (0.4 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-1.1 percent) and recreation (-1.0 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.8 percent. Components contributing to the increase included recreation (3.9 percent) and shelter (3.1 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decline in new and used motor vehicles (-4.4 percent).

The July 2019 Consumer Price Index for the Honolulu area is scheduled to be released on August 13, 2019.

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 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/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 Urban Hawaii area covered in this release consists of Honolulu in the State of Hawaii.

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

Urban Hawaii (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Mar. 2019	Apr. 2019	May 2019	May 2018	Mar. 2019	Apr. 2019
Expenditure category
All items	280.263	-	282.271	2.1	0.7	-
All items (1967=100)	771.555	-	777.084	-	-	-
Food and beverages	286.936	-	288.183	2.9	0.4	-
Food	287.753	-	289.332	3.1	0.5	-
Food at home	274.797	273.986	276.911	2.1	0.8	1.1
Cereals and bakery products	299.666	-	310.699	-0.6	3.7	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	257.361	-	259.254	4.0	0.7	-
Dairy and related products	236.691	-	243.049	3.7	2.7	-
Fruits and vegetables	339.489	-	350.165	3.9	3.1	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	349.583	-	332.602	-1.6	-4.9	-
Other food at home	259.828	-	260.244	1.6	0.2	-
Food away from home	295.412	-	296.367	4.2	0.3	-
Food away from home	295.412	-	296.367	4.2	0.3	-
Alcoholic beverages	271.570	-	266.475	-1.3	-1.9	-
Housing	305.967	-	308.294	3.2	0.8	-
Shelter	334.174	335.470	335.670	3.1	0.4	0.1
Rent of primary residence(2)	324.331	324.979	326.682	2.9	0.7	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)	348.903	349.889	349.319	3.1	0.1	-0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)	348.903	349.889	349.319	3.1	0.1	-0.2
Fuels and utilities	361.361	-	375.909	7.8	4.0	-
Household energy	289.566	297.572	307.132	9.5	6.1	3.2
Energy services	284.639	292.532	302.014	9.6	6.1	3.2
Electricity	281.895	289.048	298.397	9.7	5.9	3.2
Utility (piped) gas service	287.031	310.551	321.075	6.7	11.9	3.4
Household furnishings and operations	146.080	-	146.448	-1.7	0.3	-
Apparel	113.199	-	111.957	-1.7	-1.1	-
Transportation	222.641	-	226.915	-1.7	1.9	-
Private transportation	221.038	-	225.101	-1.5	1.8	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	104.748	-	104.549	-4.4	-0.2	-
New vehicles(1)	166.627	-	166.627	-4.5	0.0	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	243.060	-	239.904	-0.4	-1.3	-
Motor fuel	247.653	265.548	269.142	-0.4	8.7	1.4
Gasoline (all types)	254.081	272.500	276.207	-0.4	8.7	1.4
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	265.267	284.514	287.713	-0.9	8.5	1.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	209.658	226.716	229.840	2.9	9.6	1.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	232.689	249.069	255.842	2.0	10.0	2.7
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	489.602	-	485.506	0.4	-0.8	-
Medical care	-	-	-	-	-	-
Recreation(3)	132.785	-	131.519	3.9	-1.0	-
Education and communication(3)	143.400	-	144.034	2.3	0.4	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,752.585	-	1,756.471	6.0	0.2	-
Other goods and services	500.460	-	502.855	0.3	0.5	-
Commodity and service group
All items	280.263	-	282.271	2.1	0.7	-
Commodities	204.671	-	207.099	0.5	1.2	-
Commodities less food & beverages	155.058	-	157.943	-1.6	1.9	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	194.221	-	200.143	-1.4	3.0	-
Durables	111.848	-	112.114	-1.8	0.2	-
Services	346.223	-	347.886	3.0	0.5	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	272.680	-	274.607	2.1	0.7	-
All items less shelter	256.748	-	259.055	1.5	0.9	-
Commodities less food	159.301	-	162.022	-1.6	1.7	-
Nondurables	242.172	-	245.704	1.1	1.5	-
Nondurables less food	198.930	-	204.325	-1.4	2.7	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	359.798	-	361.695	2.8	0.5	-
Services less medical care services	338.252	-	339.974	3.0	0.5	-
Energy	263.864	277.466	283.561	3.9	7.5	2.2
All items less energy	283.078	-	283.847	2.0	0.3	-
All items less food and energy	284.089	-	284.709	1.8	0.2	-
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.
- Data not available NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.