Prices in the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), decreased 0.4 percent in December, after dropping 0.3 percent in November and 0.2 percent in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Denis M. McSweeney said the decline reflected lower prices for energy and other items, which more than offset an increase for food. Not since the last quarter of 2008 has the CPI-U fallen for three consecutive months. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

For the year ended December 2011, the CPI-U rose 2.7 percent, largely attributable to higher shelter and food prices. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.4 percent. (See table A.and chart 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.7 percent, after dropping 0.3 percent in November. A 1.1-percent jump in prices for food at home lifted the index, while prices for food away from home inched up 0.1 percent. Higher prices were reported for bread, eggs, lettuce, uncooked beef roasts, and other fresh fruits.

From December 2010 to December 2011, the food index advanced 4.3 percent, with prices for food at home increasing 5.5 percent. (See table 1.)

Energy

The energy index fell 2.6 percent, after decreasing 0.8 percent in November. Gasoline prices dropped 3.2 percent, marking the seventh consecutive decline, the longest streak recorded in the area since 2001-02. Prices for household energy decreased 2.2 percent, reflecting lower charges for electricity (-2.3 percent) and natural gas (-3.7 percent).

Over the year, energy prices increased 2.4 percent, led by a 9.9-percent rise in gasoline prices. In contrast, household energy prices retreated 3.9 percent, with natural gas and electricity charges falling 9.3 and 7.1 percent, respectively.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy dropped 0.4 percent, the largest decline posted since November 2008. The fall of the index was largely driven by seasonal discounting of apparel (-5.1 percent). Shelter prices also decreased in December, with residential rent dipping 0.1 percent and owners' equivalent rent edging down 0.2 percent. Lower prices were also reported for toys, televisions, and used cars and trucks. In contrast, medical care prices advanced 0.7 percent over the month.

For the year ended December 2011, the index for all items less food and energy rose 2.4 percent. Shelter prices increased 1.8 percent, and residential rent rose 2.1 percent. Apparel prices advanced 3.1 percent, and prices for medical care climbed 4.0 percent, the largest over-the-year change recorded since January 2008.

CPI-W

In December, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 244.586, down 0.4 percent over the month. The CPI-W increased 3.0 percent over the year.

The January 2012 Consumer Price Index for New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island is scheduled to be released on Friday, February 17, 2012 at 8:30 a.m. (EST).

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 87 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 32 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; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339.

For personal assistance or further information on Consumer Price Indexes, as well as other Bureau products, contact the New York-New Jersey Information Office at (646) 264-3600 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET.

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-
	Oct. 2011	Nov. 2011	Dec. 2011	Dec. 2010	Oct. 2011	Nov. 2011
Expenditure category
All items	250.051	249.317	248.307	2.7	-0.7	-0.4
All items (1967=100)	722.862	720.740	717.820
Food and beverages	240.155	239.385	240.948	4.1	0.3	0.7
Food	239.606	238.869	240.450	4.3	0.4	0.7
Food at home	240.312	239.140	241.762	5.5	0.6	1.1
Food away from home	245.045	244.831	245.155	2.9	0.0	0.1
Alcoholic beverages	244.149	242.925	244.206	1.3	0.0	0.5
Housing	262.854	262.528	261.610	1.1	-0.5	-0.3
Shelter	320.655	320.318	319.315	1.8	-0.4	-0.3
Rent of primary residence (1)	323.820	324.090	323.923	2.1	0.0	-0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of residences (1) (2)	328.100	327.977	327.406	1.7	-0.2	-0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence (1) (2)	327.983	327.849	327.263	1.7	-0.2	-0.2
Fuels and utilities	200.050	199.732	195.905	-3.1	-2.1	-1.9
Household energy	197.295	196.935	192.588	-3.9	-2.4	-2.2
Energy services (1)	181.957	181.240	176.287	-7.8	-3.1	-2.7
Electricity (1)	180.675	177.956	173.910	-7.1	-3.7	-2.3
Utility (piped) gas service (1)	178.691	182.399	175.620	-9.3	-1.7	-3.7
Household furnishings and operations	120.356	120.032	121.548	-0.3	1.0	1.3
Apparel	130.489	126.712	120.247	3.1	-7.8	-5.1
Transportation	224.943	223.567	221.334	6.2	-1.6	-1.0
Private transportation	213.589	211.998	210.394	6.3	-1.5	-0.8
Motor fuel	278.707	274.793	266.344	10.2	-4.4	-3.1
Gasoline (all types)	277.757	273.528	264.876	9.9	-4.6	-3.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular (3)	280.644	276.093	267.285	9.6	-4.8	-3.2
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (3) (4)	279.482	275.866	267.373	10.8	-4.3	-3.1
Gasoline, unleaded premium (3)	272.727	269.327	260.878	10.8	-4.3	-3.1
Medical care	395.287	396.753	399.502	4.0	1.1	0.7
Recreation (5)	116.651	116.565	116.489	2.8	-0.1	-0.1
Education and communication (5)	138.075	138.172	138.132	2.0	0.0	0.0
Other goods and services	385.998	387.114	387.276	1.6	0.3	0.0
Commodity and service group
All items	250.051	249.317	248.307	2.7	-0.7	-0.4
Commodities	192.254	191.082	189.805	4.0	-1.3	-0.7
Commodities less food and beverages	159.568	158.268	155.718	3.9	-2.4	-1.6
Nondurables less food and beverages	203.183	200.774	195.597	4.9	-3.7	-2.6
Durables	103.890	103.939	104.565	1.9	0.6	0.6
Services	299.664	299.282	298.482	2.0	-0.4	-0.3
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	243.470	242.667	241.539	2.6	-0.8	-0.5
All items less shelter	222.524	221.617	220.595	3.2	-0.9	-0.5
Commodities less food	163.115	161.810	159.359	3.8	-2.3	-1.5
Nondurables	224.304	222.623	220.525	4.5	-1.7	-0.9
Nondurables less food	206.046	203.692	198.845	4.7	-3.5	-2.4
Services less rent of shelter (2)	287.193	286.743	286.160	2.2	-0.4	-0.2
Services less medical care services	291.465	291.044	290.025	1.8	-0.5	-0.4
Energy	231.151	229.351	223.324	2.4	-3.4	-2.6
All items less energy	253.685	253.046	252.506	2.7	-0.5	-0.2
All items less food and energy	257.837	257.213	256.281	2.4	-0.6	-0.4
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.