Prices in the Honolulu area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.3 percent for the two months ending in January 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the January increase was influenced by higher prices for apparel and recreation. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 5.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices advanced 6.1 percent. Energy prices increased 20.9 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of electricity. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.7 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 0.2 percent for the two months ending in January. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home were unchanged, with higher prices in three of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home rose 0.4 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 6.1 percent. Prices for food at home rose 4.0 percent since a year ago, with higher prices in four of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home advanced 9.4 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 3.6 percent for the two months ending in January. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-4.6 percent). Prices for natural gas service decreased 18.5 percent, and electricity prices moved down 1.9 percent for the same period.

Energy prices increased 20.9 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for electricity (28.1 percent). Prices paid for gasoline advanced 15.7 percent, but prices for natural gas service declined 1.3 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.7 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for apparel (15.7 percent), recreation (2.9 percent), and new vehicles (2.2 percent)  were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-3.7 percent) and shelter (-0.4 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.7 percent. Components contributing to the increase included new vehicles (9.1 percent) and shelter (1.8 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in used cars and trucks (-10.0 percent).

Table A. Urban Hawaii CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2019		2020		2021		2022		2023
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
January		1.9	0.5	1.7	0.3	1.4	0.9	6.0	0.3	5.2
March	0.5	1.8	0.6	1.8	0.9	1.8	2.4	7.5
May	0.7	2.1	0.2	1.3	2.1	3.8	1.6	7.0
July	-0.1	1.6	0.0	1.3	0.8	4.6	0.6	6.8
September	0.1	1.1	0.6	1.9	1.0	5.0	0.8	6.6
November	0.1	0.9	-0.2	1.6	0.1	5.4	-0.6	5.8

The March 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Honolulu area is scheduled to be released on April 12, 2023.

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 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-
	Historical data	Nov. 2022	Dec. 2022	Jan. 2023	Jan. 2022	Nov. 2022	Dec. 2022
Expenditure category
All items		319.971	-	320.790	5.2	0.3	-
All items (1967=100)		880.870	-	883.125	-	-	-
Food and beverages		345.609	-	347.036	5.5	0.4	-
Food		349.593	-	350.287	6.1	0.2	-
Food at home		342.236	343.842	342.366	4.0	0.0	-0.4
Cereals and bakery products		381.838	-	388.295	5.6	1.7	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		314.367	-	313.950	-7.5	-0.1	-
Dairy and related products		279.699	-	287.265	12.2	2.7	-
Fruits and vegetables		427.510	-	418.492	10.0	-2.1	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		433.188	-	427.838	-3.8	-1.2	-
Other food at home		332.350	-	335.001	11.6	0.8	-
Food away from home		350.023	-	351.450	9.4	0.4	-
Alcoholic beverages		278.133	-	293.234	-5.1	5.4	-
Housing		341.277	-	339.646	3.4	-0.5	-
Shelter		364.518	361.342	363.145	1.8	-0.4	0.5
Rent of primary residence(2)		359.718	357.925	360.103	2.0	0.1	0.6
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		374.485	373.859	375.650	2.5	0.3	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		374.485	373.859	375.650	2.5	0.3	0.5
Fuels and utilities		485.484	-	476.890	18.1	-1.8	-
Household energy		425.060	419.428	414.020	26.4	-2.6	-1.3
Energy services		417.498	412.378	405.907	26.5	-2.8	-1.6
Electricity		414.067	410.278	406.137	28.1	-1.9	-1.0
Utility (piped) gas service		409.105	376.017	333.574	-1.3	-18.5	-11.3
Household furnishings and operations		161.721	-	162.735	1.8	0.6	-
Apparel		107.187	-	124.045	15.4	15.7	-
Transportation		274.915	-	270.999	7.7	-1.4	-
Private transportation		285.363	-	282.303	7.8	-1.1	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		126.401	-	127.032	5.5	0.5	-
New vehicles(1)		188.000	-	192.051	9.1	2.2	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		331.823	-	319.382	-10.0	-3.7	-
Motor fuel		410.594	402.319	391.154	15.7	-4.7	-2.8
Gasoline (all types)		421.275	412.758	401.770	15.7	-4.6	-2.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		437.888	428.845	417.307	15.9	-4.7	-2.7
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		350.032	343.295	333.908	15.6	-4.6	-2.7
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		393.016	385.784	375.985	14.8	-4.3	-2.5
Medical care		488.065	-	-	-	-	-
Recreation(3)		143.109	-	147.294	3.7	2.9	-
Education and communication(3)		155.743	-	156.818	3.8	0.7	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		1,922.709	-	1,922.709	2.4	0.0	-
Other goods and services		589.566	-	590.139	12.5	0.1	-
Commodity and service group
All items		319.971	-	320.790	5.2	0.3	-
Commodities		248.165	-	251.312	8.2	1.3	-
Commodities less food & beverages		188.837	-	192.506	10.6	1.9	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		245.451	-	252.370	16.5	2.8	-
Durables		130.725	-	131.842	4.3	0.9	-
Services		383.576	-	382.666	3.7	-0.2	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		310.973	-	310.869	4.8	0.0	-
All items less shelter		302.755	-	304.869	7.6	0.7	-
Commodities less food		192.694	-	196.654	9.9	2.1	-
Nondurables		297.509	-	301.694	9.6	1.4	-
Nondurables less food		247.671	-	255.044	14.7	3.0	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)		408.341	-	408.197	6.8	0.0	-
Services less medical care services		374.012	-	373.023	3.8	-0.3	-
Energy		415.985	409.031	400.958	20.9	-3.6	-2.0
All items less energy		315.782	-	317.678	4.1	0.6	-
All items less food and energy		311.704	-	313.797	3.7	0.7	-
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.