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News Release Information

23-2592-SAN
Tuesday, December 12, 2023

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Consumer Price Index, Honolulu Area — November 2023

Area prices were up 0.8 percent over the past two months, up 3.6 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Honolulu area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.8 percent for the two months ending in November 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the November increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter. (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 3.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices rose 4.0 percent. Energy prices decreased 8.5 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 4.8 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.6 percent for the two months ending in November. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home advanced 0.3 percent, led by higher prices for meats, poultry, fish and eggs (2.5 percent). Prices for food away from home rose 1.0 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 4.0 percent. Prices for food at home increased 1.2 percent since a year ago, led by higher prices for cereals and bakery products (7.1 percent) and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (6.3 percent). Prices for food away from home increased 8.0 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 0.1 percent for the two months ending in November. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-2.3 percent). Prices for natural gas service declined 13.0 percent, but prices for electricity increased 2.9 percent for the same period.

Energy prices decreased 8.5 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-10.7 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service decreased 13.9 percent, and prices for electricity moved down 6.1 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.9 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for shelter (1.7 percent) and medical care (1.6 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for education and communication (-1.6 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (-1.4 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 4.8 percent. Components contributing to the increase included medical care (6.3 percent) and shelter (6.2 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in new and used motor vehicles (-1.9 percent) and education and communication (-1.1 percent).

Table A. Urban Hawaii CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month20192020202120222023
2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month

January

1.90.51.70.31.40.96.00.35.2

March

0.51.80.61.80.91.82.47.50.63.3

May

0.72.10.21.32.13.81.67.00.32.0

July

-0.11.60.01.30.84.60.66.80.72.1

September

0.11.10.61.91.05.00.86.60.92.2

November

0.10.9-0.21.60.15.4-0.65.80.83.6

The January 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Honolulu area is scheduled to be released on February 13, 2024.


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

IndexesPercent change from-
Historical
data
Sep.
2023
Oct.
2023
Nov.
2023
Nov.
2022
Sep.
2023
Oct.
2023

Expenditure category

All items

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSA0
328.905-331.4283.60.8-

All items (1967=100)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FAA0
905.467-912.411---

Food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSAF
357.386-359.4594.00.6-

Food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSAF1
361.580-363.6104.00.6-

Food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSAF11
345.394346.399346.2981.20.30.0

Cereals and bakery products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSAF111
408.203404.124408.8367.10.21.2

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSAF112
326.095330.209334.3126.32.51.2

Dairy and related products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSEFJ
285.564286.977283.1071.2-0.9-1.3

Fruits and vegetables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSAF113
404.312405.475397.161-7.1-1.8-2.1

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSAF114
410.184407.614410.363-5.30.00.7

Other food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSAF115
341.181342.972342.7773.10.5-0.1

Food away from home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSEFV
374.447-378.0598.01.0-

Alcoholic beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSAF116
286.332-289.2354.01.0-

Housing

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSAH
351.990-357.1894.71.5-

Shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSAH1
380.584381.841386.9976.21.71.4

Rent of primary residence(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSEHA
374.094376.345391.5028.84.74.0

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSEHC
394.779396.045397.7076.20.70.4

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSEHC01
394.779396.045397.7076.20.70.4

Fuels and utilities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSAH2
458.935-464.486-4.31.2-

Household energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSAH21
390.490402.966397.222-6.51.7-1.4

Energy services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSEHF
383.314395.670390.528-6.51.9-1.3

Electricity

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSEHF01
377.884391.977388.783-6.12.9-0.8

Utility (piped) gas service

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSEHF02
404.853387.495352.210-13.9-13.0-9.1

Household furnishings and operations

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSAH3
166.842-165.7602.5-0.6-

Apparel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSAA
125.786-122.50914.3-2.6-

Transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSAT
270.166-268.762-2.2-0.5-

Private transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSAT1
280.355-278.306-2.5-0.7-

New and used motor vehicles(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSETA
125.769-124.004-1.9-1.4-

New vehicles(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSETA01
190.937-187.276-0.4-1.9-

Used cars and trucks(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSETA02
321.762-320.238-3.5-0.5-

Motor fuel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSETB
375.096372.891366.596-10.7-2.3-1.7

Gasoline (all types)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSETB01
385.154382.737376.153-10.7-2.3-1.7

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSS47014
400.056397.266390.212-10.9-2.5-1.8

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSS47015
319.067318.342312.921-10.6-1.9-1.7

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSS47016
360.508359.140353.764-10.0-1.9-1.5

Medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSAM
510.270-518.5716.31.6-

Recreation(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSAR
150.637-149.7404.6-0.6-

Education and communication(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSAE
156.478-154.010-1.1-1.6-

Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSEEB
2,007.393-2,007.3934.40.0-

Other goods and services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSAG
622.050-622.5875.60.1-

Commodity and service group

All items

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSA0
328.905-331.4283.60.8-

Commodities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSAC
252.194-250.1340.8-0.8-

Commodities less food & beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSACL11
189.187-185.458-1.8-2.0-

Nondurables less food & beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSANL11
246.975-242.777-1.1-1.7-

Durables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSAD
130.236-127.241-2.7-2.3-

Services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSAS
396.487-402.5484.91.5-

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSA0L5
319.205-321.4183.40.7-

All items less shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSA0L2
307.663-307.9401.70.1-

Commodities less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSACL1
193.223-189.603-1.6-1.9-

Nondurables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSAN
304.343-303.3422.0-0.3-

Nondurables less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSANL1
249.559-245.712-0.8-1.5-

Services less rent of shelter(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSASL2RS
414.849-420.0242.91.2-

Services less medical care services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSASL5
386.106-391.9764.81.5-

Energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSA0E
381.060386.593380.624-8.5-0.1-1.5

All items less energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSA0LE
327.772-330.5164.70.8-

All items less food and energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS49FSA0L1E
323.742-326.6124.80.9-

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.

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, December 12, 2023