Internet: www.bls.gov/ro3/ |
PLS – 4448
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2008 |
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INFORMATION: | Gerald Perrins (215) 597-3282 |
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MEDIA CONTACT: | Sheila Watkins |
Philadelphia Area Consumer Price Index: August 2008 (PDF)
Retail prices in the Philadelphia area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), were unchanged from June to August, following a 2.1-percent increase in the previous two-month period, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau's regional commissioner, noted that advances in most major categories that comprise the CPI, led by housing and education and communication, were offset by lower prices for transportation, apparel, and recreation.  (See chart A.) The August level of 228.337 (1982-84 = 100) was 4.4 percent higher than in August 2007. Over the same period, the core inflation rate, as measured by the all items less food and energy index, rose 2.1 percent. (See table 1.)
Chart A. 2-month and 12-month percent changes ended August 2008 for the major categories of the CPI-U for the Philadelphia area, not seasonally adjusted
Due mainly to higher shelter prices, the housing index rose 0.5 percent from June to August.  The shelter index, which includes rent of primary residence, lodging away from home, owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence, and tenants’ and household insurance, edged up 0.3 percent since June to a level 1.3 percent higher than a year ago. Fuels and utilities prices increased 1.4 percent over the last two months due almost entirely to higher prices for water and sewerage maintenance and electricity. Electricity prices rose 1.1 percent since June, while utility (piped) gas service prices were unchanged over the bimonthly period; these two indexes were 3.4 and 13.1 percent higher, respectively, than year-ago levels. The overall fuels and utilities index advanced 11.5 percent since August 2007. Higher prices for major appliances helped push prices for household furnishings and operations, the third component of the housing index, up 0.3 percent from June to August; household furnishings and operations prices rose 3.1 percent over the last 12 months. The overall housing index advanced 2.9 percent since last August.
Following normal seasonal patterns, the education and communication index advanced 1.5 percent over the last two months; higher prices for college tuition and fees were primarily responsible for the recent increase. Over the year, education and communication prices rose 3.2 percent.
The food and beverages index increased 0.4 percent from June to August, as a 1.6-percent increase in prices for food at home was partially offset by a 1.2-percent decline in prices for food away from home. Over the last 12 months, prices rose for both food at home (5.3 percent) and food away from home (1.4 percent). The alcoholic beverages index was up 0.7 percent since June and 2.0 percent since August 2007. The overall food and beverages index advanced 3.4 percent over the year.
The other goods and services index, which includes tobacco and smoking products, personal care products, personal care services, and miscellaneous personal services such as legal, funeral, and laundry and dry cleaning services, rose 1.0 percent from June to August to a level 1.7 percent higher than a year ago.
The medical care index rose for the fourth consecutive bimonthly period, up 0.3 percent since June and 2.9 percent since December 2007. The medical care index was 3.9 percent higher than its year-ago level—the largest 12-month advance since December 2006.
The remaining categories had lower prices from June to August. Following two consecutive bimonthly increases totaling 10.8 percent, the transportation index fell 2.0 percent since June. The recent decline in transportation prices was dominated by a 6.5-percent drop in gasoline prices. Despite this decline, gasoline prices were 36.3 percent higher than in August 2007.  Helping to moderate the two-month decrease in the transportation index were higher prices for airline fare. Over the last 12 months, the transportation index rose 12.7 percent.
The apparel index fell 2.5 percent from June to August, reflecting lower prices for a number of items, including boys’ apparel. Since August 2007, apparel prices declined 1.5 percent.
The recreation index edged down 0.3 percent over the last two months, due in part to lower prices for televisions and toys. Due to increases in four of the last six bimonthly periods, recreation prices advanced 3.9 percent over the year.
The energy index, which reflects prices for gasoline and household fuels, declined 3.0 percent since June, due almost entirely to lower gasoline prices, which were down 6.5 percent over the last two months. A 1.1-percent increase in electricity prices moderated the recent decrease in the energy index. Since last August, energy prices rose 22.7 percent.
The services index rose 0.7 percent, while the commodities index fell 1.3 percent over the last two months. Both indexes were higher over the year, up 2.8 and 7.0 percent, respectively.
The CPI-U for the Philadelphia area stood at 228.337 on the 1982-84=100 reference base, which means that a market basket of goods and services which averaged $100.00 in 1982-84 would have cost $228.34 last month.
The Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md., Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA), includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania; Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem Counties in New Jersey; New Castle County in Delaware; and Cecil County in Maryland.
The relative importance of a component of the CPI is its expenditure or value weight expressed as a percentage of all items within an area. Relative importance ratios show approximately how the index population distributes expenditures when the value weights are collected and represent an estimate of how consumers would distribute their expenditures as prices change over time. Relative importance ratios cannot be used as estimates of current spending patterns or as indicators of changing consumer expenditures in the intervals between weight revisions because consumption patterns are influenced by factors—including income, variations in climate, family size, and availability of new and different kinds of goods and services—other than price change. (See table A.)
Item and group | CPI-U |
---|---|
Expenditure category | |
All items |
100.000 |
Food and beverages |
13.580 |
Food |
12.650 |
Food at home |
6.994 |
Food away from home |
5.655 |
Alcoholic beverages |
0.930 |
Housing |
46.849 |
Shelter |
36.425 |
Rent of primary residence |
5.817 |
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence |
28.291 |
Fuels and utilities |
6.692 |
Household energy |
5.757 |
Gas (piped) and electricity |
4.928 |
Electricity |
3.369 |
Utility (piped) gas service |
1.560 |
Household furnishings and operations |
3.731 |
Apparel |
3.719 |
Transportation |
16.101 |
Private transportation |
14.978 |
Motor fuel |
4.893 |
Gasoline |
4.664 |
Medical care |
5.119 |
Recreation |
4.889 |
Education and communication |
6.654 |
Other goods and services |
3.089 |
Commodity and service group | |
Commodities |
37.045 |
Commodities less food and beverages |
23.465 |
Non durables less food and beverages |
14.629 |
Durables |
8.836 |
Services |
62.955 |
Special aggregate indexes | |
All items less medical care |
94.881 |
All items less shelter |
63.575 |
Commodities less food |
24.396 |
Nondurables |
28.209 |
Nondurables less food |
15.559 |
Services less rent of shelter |
26.833 |
Services less medical care services |
59.246 |
Energy |
10.650 |
All items less energy |
89.350 |
All items less food and energy |
76.700 |
Expenditure category | Indexes | Percent change from- | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
June 2008 | July 2008 | Aug. 2008 | Aug. 2007 | June 2008 | July 2008 | |
All items |
228.408 | - | 228.337 | 4.4 | 0.0 | - |
Food and beverages |
202.475 | - | 203.201 | 3.4 | 0.4 | - |
Food |
202.398 | - | 203.080 | 3.5 | 0.3 | - |
Food at home |
213.771 | 218.483 | 217.116 | 5.3 | 1.6 | -0.6 |
Food away from home |
182.530 | - | 180.370 | 1.4 | -1.2 | - |
Alcoholic beverages |
200.829 | - | 202.158 | 2.0 | 0.7 | - |
Housing |
234.992 | - | 236.167 | 2.9 | 0.5 | - |
Shelter |
275.900 | 277.355 | 276.859 | 1.3 | 0.3 | -0.2 |
Rent of primary residence (1) |
253.974 | 255.566 | 256.267 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 0.3 |
280.723 | 280.644 | 280.050 | 1.4 | -0.2 | -0.2 | |
Fuels and utilities |
231.108 | - | 234.266 | 11.5 | 1.4 | - |
Household energy |
216.432 | 218.712 | 217.511 | 11.8 | 0.5 | -0.5 |
Gas (piped) and electricity (1) |
223.100 | 223.649 | 224.802 | 6.3 | 0.8 | 0.5 |
Electricity (1) |
208.624 | 209.379 | 210.970 | 3.4 | 1.1 | 0.8 |
Utility (piped) gas service (1) |
254.713 | 254.720 | 254.720 | 13.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Household furnishings and operations |
125.377 | - | 125.706 | 3.1 | 0.3 | - |
Apparel |
101.322 | - | 98.789 | -1.5 | -2.5 | - |
Transportation |
213.763 | - | 209.522 | 12.7 | -2.0 | - |
Private transportation |
211.690 | - | 205.959 | 12.5 | -2.7 | - |
Motor fuel |
361.735 | 364.608 | 338.371 | 36.9 | -6.5 | -7.2 |
Gasoline (all types) |
355.086 | 357.988 | 331.966 | 36.3 | -6.5 | -7.3 |
Gasoline, unleaded regular (3) |
359.662 | 362.087 | 334.106 | 36.3 | -7.1 | -7.7 |
342.761 | 346.605 | 324.533 | 37.0 | -5.3 | -6.4 | |
Gasoline, unleaded premium (3) |
324.940 | 328.584 | 308.249 | 35.6 | -5.1 | -6.2 |
Medical care |
417.316 | - | 418.465 | 3.9 | 0.3 | - |
Recreation (5) |
122.995 | - | 122.572 | 3.9 | -0.3 | - |
Education and communication (5) |
123.576 | - | 125.390 | 3.2 | 1.5 | - |
Other goods and services |
385.145 | - | 389.079 | 1.7 | 1.0 | - |
Commodity and service group | ||||||
Commodities |
178.434 | - | 176.140 | 7.0 | -1.3 | - |
Commodities less food and beverages |
161.736 | - | 158.227 | 9.2 | -2.2 | - |
Nondurables less food and beverages |
205.954 | - | 199.962 | 14.3 | -2.9 | - |
Durables |
113.196 | - | 112.332 | 0.8 | -0.8 | - |
Services |
280.477 | - | 282.554 | 2.8 | 0.7 | - |
Special aggregate indexes | ||||||
All items less medical care |
220.188 | - | 220.084 | 4.4 | 0.0 | - |
All items less shelter |
214.421 | - | 213.908 | 6.2 | -0.2 | - |
Commodities less food |
163.451 | - | 160.068 | 8.9 | -2.1 | - |
Nondurables |
207.000 | - | 204.027 | 9.0 | -1.4 | - |
Nondurables less food |
205.774 | - | 200.173 | 13.5 | -2.7 | - |
Services less rent of shelter (2) |
291.999 | - | 295.672 | 5.0 | 1.3 | - |
Services less medical care services |
269.157 | - | 271.224 | 2.8 | 0.8 | - |
Energy |
268.707 | 271.192 | 260.773 | 22.7 | -3.0 | -3.8 |
All items less energy |
225.002 | - | 225.880 | 2.3 | 0.4 | - |
All items less food and energy |
231.181 | - | 232.104 | 2.1 | 0.4 | - |
Footnotes |
Last Modified Date: September 16, 2008