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.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Urban Hawaii, November 2020–November 2023

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Nov 2020	1.6	1.8
Jan 2021	1.4	1.4
Mar 2021	1.8	0.9
May 2021	3.8	3.3
Jul 2021	4.6	3.8
Sep 2021	5.0	4.1
Nov 2021	5.4	3.4
Jan 2022	6.0	3.9
Mar 2022	7.5	5.3
May 2022	7.0	4.3
Jul 2022	6.8	3.9
Sep 2022	6.6	4.1
Nov 2022	5.8	3.6
Jan 2023	5.2	3.7
Mar 2023	3.3	3.0
May 2023	2.0	2.5
Jul 2023	2.1	3.3
Sep 2023	2.2	3.0
Nov 2023	3.6	4.8

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.

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.

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).

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

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	Sep. 2023	Oct. 2023	Nov. 2023	Nov. 2022	Sep. 2023	Oct. 2023
Expenditure category
All items		328.905	-	331.428	3.6	0.8	-
All items (1967=100)		905.467	-	912.411	-	-	-
Food and beverages		357.386	-	359.459	4.0	0.6	-
Food		361.580	-	363.610	4.0	0.6	-
Food at home		345.394	346.399	346.298	1.2	0.3	0.0
Cereals and bakery products		408.203	404.124	408.836	7.1	0.2	1.2
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		326.095	330.209	334.312	6.3	2.5	1.2
Dairy and related products		285.564	286.977	283.107	1.2	-0.9	-1.3
Fruits and vegetables		404.312	405.475	397.161	-7.1	-1.8	-2.1
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		410.184	407.614	410.363	-5.3	0.0	0.7
Other food at home		341.181	342.972	342.777	3.1	0.5	-0.1
Food away from home		374.447	-	378.059	8.0	1.0	-
Alcoholic beverages		286.332	-	289.235	4.0	1.0	-
Housing		351.990	-	357.189	4.7	1.5	-
Shelter		380.584	381.841	386.997	6.2	1.7	1.4
Rent of primary residence(2)		374.094	376.345	391.502	8.8	4.7	4.0
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)		394.779	396.045	397.707	6.2	0.7	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)		394.779	396.045	397.707	6.2	0.7	0.4
Fuels and utilities		458.935	-	464.486	-4.3	1.2	-
Household energy		390.490	402.966	397.222	-6.5	1.7	-1.4
Energy services		383.314	395.670	390.528	-6.5	1.9	-1.3
Electricity		377.884	391.977	388.783	-6.1	2.9	-0.8
Utility (piped) gas service		404.853	387.495	352.210	-13.9	-13.0	-9.1
Household furnishings and operations		166.842	-	165.760	2.5	-0.6	-
Apparel		125.786	-	122.509	14.3	-2.6	-
Transportation		270.166	-	268.762	-2.2	-0.5	-
Private transportation		280.355	-	278.306	-2.5	-0.7	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)		125.769	-	124.004	-1.9	-1.4	-
New vehicles(1)		190.937	-	187.276	-0.4	-1.9	-
Used cars and trucks(1)		321.762	-	320.238	-3.5	-0.5	-
Motor fuel		375.096	372.891	366.596	-10.7	-2.3	-1.7
Gasoline (all types)		385.154	382.737	376.153	-10.7	-2.3	-1.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		400.056	397.266	390.212	-10.9	-2.5	-1.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		319.067	318.342	312.921	-10.6	-1.9	-1.7
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		360.508	359.140	353.764	-10.0	-1.9	-1.5
Medical care		510.270	-	518.571	6.3	1.6	-
Recreation(3)		150.637	-	149.740	4.6	-0.6	-
Education and communication(3)		156.478	-	154.010	-1.1	-1.6	-
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		2,007.393	-	2,007.393	4.4	0.0	-
Other goods and services		622.050	-	622.587	5.6	0.1	-
Commodity and service group
All items		328.905	-	331.428	3.6	0.8	-
Commodities		252.194	-	250.134	0.8	-0.8	-
Commodities less food & beverages		189.187	-	185.458	-1.8	-2.0	-
Nondurables less food & beverages		246.975	-	242.777	-1.1	-1.7	-
Durables		130.236	-	127.241	-2.7	-2.3	-
Services		396.487	-	402.548	4.9	1.5	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		319.205	-	321.418	3.4	0.7	-
All items less shelter		307.663	-	307.940	1.7	0.1	-
Commodities less food		193.223	-	189.603	-1.6	-1.9	-
Nondurables		304.343	-	303.342	2.0	-0.3	-
Nondurables less food		249.559	-	245.712	-0.8	-1.5	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)		414.849	-	420.024	2.9	1.2	-
Services less medical care services		386.106	-	391.976	4.8	1.5	-
Energy		381.060	386.593	380.624	-8.5	-0.1	-1.5
All items less energy		327.772	-	330.516	4.7	0.8	-
All items less food and energy		323.742	-	326.612	4.8	0.9	-
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.