Consumer Price Index, New York-Northern New Jersey – February 2013

Area prices up 0.6 percent over the month and 2.4 percent over the year

Prices in the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.6 percent in February, after increasing 0.5 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli said the rise was primarily due to higher prices for gasoline and other items, including shelter and apparel. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the year, the CPI-U rose 2.4 percent. (See chart 1. and table A. ) The 12-month increase was driven by higher prices for shelter. The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.3 percent.

Food

The food index dropped 0.5 percent, following a 0.6-percent increase in January. The downturn resulted from a 0.9-percent fall in prices for food at home, the largest decline since November 2006. Lower prices were reported for citrus fruits; potatoes; tomatoes; and cakes, cupcakes, and cookies. Away-from-home food prices, in contrast, were unchanged over the month.

For the year ended in February 2013, the food index rose 1.3 percent. Prices for food at home increased 1.0 percent, and prices for food away from home, 1.6 percent. (See table 1.)

Energy

The energy index increased 2.0 percent, after increasing 2.4 percent in January. In contrast to January, the increase was mainly attributable to an upturn in gasoline prices, which jumped 5.7 percent, following four consecutive declines. Household energy, on the other hand, posted a 1.1-percent decrease, with lower prices for electricity (-2.7 percent) and natural gas (-0.9 percent).

Over the year, energy prices advanced 4.7 percent. Household energy prices rose 6.2 percent, and gasoline prices increased 3.2 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.6 percent. Apparel prices, often up in February, increased 3.7 percent. A 0.3-percent rise in shelter reflected a 0.6-percent increase in residential rent (the largest in 31 months) and higher prices for out-of-town lodging. Medical care climbed 1.5 percent, with higher prices recorded for hospital services. Price increases were also reported for used cars and trucks, car rental, and motor vehicle insurance, as well as for internet and cable/satellite television services.

From February 2012 to February 2013, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.3 percent. Shelter prices rose 2.5 percent, led by a 3.1-percent increase in residential rent, and medical care prices advanced 3.7 percent.

CPI-W

In February, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 252.317, up 0.6 percent over the month. The CPI-W increased 2.3 percent over the year.

The March 2013 Consumer Price Index for New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

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 88 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 29 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 4,000 housing units and approximately 25,000 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/homch17_a.htm.

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-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Conn.-Pa. consolidated area covered in this release is comprised of Bronx, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties in New York State; Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren Counties in New Jersey; Fairfield County and parts of Litchfield, Middlesex, and New Haven Counties in Connecticut; and Pike County in Pennsylvania.

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, New York-Northern N.J.-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)(not seasonally adjusted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Dec. 2012	Jan. 2013	Feb. 2013	Feb. 2012	Dec. 2012	Jan. 2013
Expenditure category
All items	253.555	254.807	256.234	2.4	1.1	0.6
All items (1967=100)	732.992	736.613	740.736
Food and beverages	245.398	246.755	245.825	1.4	0.2	-0.4
Food	245.044	246.545	245.303	1.3	0.1	-0.5
Food at home	245.793	248.150	245.888	1.0	0.0	-0.9
Food away from home	250.607	251.029	251.087	1.6	0.2	0.0
Alcoholic beverages	246.561	245.888	249.352	2.9	1.1	1.4
Housing	267.015	268.881	269.260	2.6	0.8	0.1
Shelter	327.068	327.598	328.725	2.5	0.5	0.3
Rent of primary residence (1)	332.255	332.991	334.895	3.1	0.8	0.6
Owners' equivalent rent of residences (1) (2)	334.387	334.950	335.482	2.3	0.3	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence (1) (2)	334.204	334.770	335.296	2.3	0.3	0.2
Fuels and utilities	197.871	207.645	205.617	5.8	3.9	-1.0
Household energy	193.851	204.860	202.576	6.2	4.5	-1.1
Energy services (1)	176.034	188.553	184.545	7.2	4.8	-2.1
Electricity (1)	173.424	191.444	186.245	5.8	7.4	-2.7
Utility (piped) gas service (1)	175.836	177.034	175.515	10.1	-0.2	-0.9
Household furnishings and operations	121.245	121.813	121.346	-0.9	0.1	-0.4
Apparel	122.501	123.400	128.008	6.8	4.5	3.7
Transportation	227.652	227.739	231.853	2.6	1.8	1.8
Private transportation	216.153	216.131	219.968	1.9	1.8	1.8
Motor fuel	284.817	281.900	297.582	3.2	4.5	5.6
Gasoline (all types)	283.474	280.510	296.391	3.2	4.6	5.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular (3)	285.379	282.095	299.398	2.8	4.9	6.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (3) (4)	288.152	285.471	297.958	4.1	3.4	4.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium (3)	281.033	279.556	291.882	4.7	3.9	4.4
Medical care	414.838	417.173	423.298	3.7	2.0	1.5
Recreation (5)	118.217	118.485	119.331	0.7	0.9	0.7
Education and communication (5)	139.440	139.909	140.114	1.1	0.5	0.1
Other goods and services	393.652	393.129	393.712	1.3	0.0	0.1
Commodity and service group
All items	253.555	254.807	256.234	2.4	1.1	0.6
Commodities	192.935	193.934	195.792	1.7	1.5	1.0
Commodities less food and beverages	158.053	158.829	161.952	2.0	2.5	2.0
Nondurables less food and beverages	201.169	201.746	207.365	3.0	3.1	2.8
Durables	103.201	104.166	104.377	-0.2	1.1	0.2
Services	305.543	307.013	308.072	2.7	0.8	0.3
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	246.399	247.606	248.857	2.3	1.0	0.5
All items less shelter	224.862	226.400	227.946	2.3	1.4	0.7
Commodities less food	161.708	162.443	165.593	2.0	2.4	1.9
Nondurables	225.643	226.605	229.154	2.2	1.6	1.1
Nondurables less food	204.248	204.754	210.265	3.0	2.9	2.7
Services less rent of shelter (2)	292.718	295.292	296.304	3.0	1.2	0.3
Services less medical care services	296.580	298.017	298.747	2.7	0.7	0.2
Energy	231.426	236.993	241.822	4.7	4.5	2.0
All items less energy	257.508	258.343	259.443	2.2	0.8	0.4
All items less food and energy	261.391	262.102	263.660	2.3	0.9	0.6
Footnotes (1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (2) Index is on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. The New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA consolidated area comprises the five boroughs of New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, and Orange Counties in New York State; Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Monmouth, Middlesex, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren Counties in New Jersey; Fairfield County and parts of Litchfield, New Haven, and Middlesex Counties in Connecticut; and Pike County in Pennsylvania.