Internet: www.bls.gov/ro3/

 PLS – 4458
FOR RELEASE:
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2008
INFORMATION: Gerald Perrins
(215) 597-3282
MEDIA CONTACT:

Sheila Watkins
(215) 861-5600

Philadelphia Area Retail Food, Shelter, and Energy Price Indexes:  September 2008 (PDF)

Philadelphia area food at home prices rose, while shelter and energy prices declined in September, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that despite the one-month decreases in shelter and energy prices, all three indexes were higher than year-ago levels; energy prices were up 19.0 percent since September 2007, while food at home and shelter prices were 6.6 and 0.9 percent higher, respectively.  (See table 1.)

Following a 0.6-percent decline in August, the food at home index rose 2.3 percent in September.  The recent advance was led by higher prices for eggs, ice cream and related products, and uncooked ground beef, among others.  Partially offsetting these advances were lower prices for a variety of items including milk and citrus fruits.

The Philadelphia area food at home index was 222.175 on the 1982-84 base, which means that grocery shoppers in the Philadelphia area would have had to spend $22.22 last month for a market basket of food items that cost $10.00 in 1982-84.

Shelter prices fell 0.7 percent in September—the largest one-month decrease in two years—due in large part to lower prices for other lodging away from home (including hotels and motels).  Lower prices for owners' equivalent rent of primary residence (-0.1 percent) also contributed to the recent decline in the shelter index, while rent of primary residence prices inched up 0.1 percent in September.  These two published components of the shelter index had over-the-year increases of 0.9 and 2.7 percent, respectively.

The Philadelphia area shelter index stood at 275.013 on the 1982-84 base, which means that local residents would have had to spend $27.50 last month for various types of shelter that cost $10.00 in 1982-84.

Following a 3.8-percent decrease in August, energy prices fell 4.5 percent in September.  The recent decline was due largely to lower gasoline prices, which also fell in both August (-7.3 percent) and September (-5.9 percent).  Over the year, gasoline prices were up 31.7 percent.  Lower prices for fuel oil, along with electricity (-1.3 percent) and utility (piped) gas service (-2.8 percent) also contributed to the recent one-month decline in the overall energy index.  Both the electricity and utility gas service indexes were higher over the year, up 2.7 and 11.5 percent, respectively.

The Philadelphia area energy index stood at 249.093 on the 1982-84 base, which means that energy users in the Philadelphia area would have had to spend $24.91 last month for a group of energy items that cost $10.00 in 1982-84.

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.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods, Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Expenditure category Indexes Percent change from-
July 2008 Aug. 2008 Sep. 2008 Sep. 2007 July 2008 Aug. 2008

All items

 - 228.337 - - - -

Food and beverages

 - 203.201 - - - -

Food

 - 203.080 - - - -

Food at home

 218.483 217.116 222.175 6.6 1.7 2.3

Food away from home

 - 180.370 - - - -

Alcoholic beverages

 - 202.158 - - - -

Housing

 - 236.167 - - - -

Shelter

 277.355 276.859 275.013 0.9 -0.8 -0.7

Rent of primary residence (1)

 255.566 256.267 256.532 2.7 0.4 0.1

Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence (1) (2)

 280.644 280.050 279.648 0.9 -0.4 -0.1

Fuels and utilities

 - 234.266 - - - -

Household energy

 218.712 217.511 210.638 9.0 -3.7 -3.2

Gas (piped) and electricity (1)

223.649 224.802 220.700 5.4 -1.3 -1.8

Electricity (1)

209.379 210.970 208.136 2.7 -0.6 -1.3

Utility (piped) gas service (1)

 254.720 254.720 247.463 11.5 -2.8 -2.8

Household furnishings and operations

 - 125.706 - - - -

Apparel

 - 98.789 - - - -

Transportation

 - 209.522 - - - -

Private transportation

 - 205.959 - - - -

Motor fuel

 364.608 338.371 318.344 32.2 -12.7 -5.9

Gasoline (all types)

 357.988 331.966 312.236 31.7 -12.8 -5.9

Gasoline, unleaded regular (3)

 362.087 334.106 313.376 31.5 -13.5 -6.2

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (3) (4)

 346.605 324.533 306.365 32.7 -11.6 -5.6

Gasoline, unleaded premium (3)

 328.584 308.249 292.472 31.9 -11.0 -5.1

Medical care

 - 418.465 - - - -

Recreation (5)

 - 122.572 - - - -

Education and communication (5)

 - 125.390 - - - -

Other goods and services

 - 389.079 - - - -
Commodity and service group            

Commodities

 - 176.140 - - - -

Commodities less food and beverages

 - 158.227 - - - -

Nondurables less food and beverages

 - 199.962 - - - -

Durables

 - 112.332 - - - -

Services

 - 282.554 - - - -
Special aggregate indexes            

All items less medical care

 - 220.084 - - - -

All items less shelter

 - 213.908 - - - -

Commodities less food

 - 160.068 - - - -

Nondurables

 - 204.027 - - - -

Nondurables less food

 - 200.173 - - - -

Services less rent of shelter (2)

 - 295.672 - - - -

Services less medical care services

 - 271.224 - - - -

Energy

 271.192 260.773 249.093 19.0 -8.1 -4.5

All items less energy

 - 225.880 - - - -

All items less food and energy

 - 232.104 - - - -

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 Indexes 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.
- Data not available.
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

 

Last Modified Date: October 16, 2008