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 0.3 percent in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Michael L. Dolfman attributed the decline to lower prices for food, energy, and all other items. It was the first time since December 2009 that all three major index components declined over the month. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

From November 2010 to November 2011, the CPI-U rose 3.0 percent, largely attributable to higher energy and shelter prices. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.5 percent. (See table A.and chart 1.)

Food

Food prices dropped 0.3 percent, after increasing by that amount in each of the two prior months. The downturn reflected a 0.5-percent drop in prices for food at home, which was tempered by a 0.1-percent decrease in prices for food away from home. Among the groceries recording lower prices over the month were citrus fruits and other sweeteners.

For the 12 months ended in November, the food index rose 3.4 percent. Food at home increased 3.7 percent, and food away from home advanced 3.1 percent. (See table 1.)

Energy

The energy index decreased 0.8 percent, after falling 4.4 percent in October. Gasoline prices dropped 1.5 percent, marking the sixth consecutive decline. Household energy prices edged down 0.2 percent. A 1.5-percent drop in electricity charges was largely offset by increases in natural gas (2.1 percent) and in fuel oil.

Over the year, energy prices increased 8.2 percent, with gasoline prices climbing 19.1 percent. Household energy prices, in contrast, decreased 0.4 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged down 0.2 percent, after increasing 0.2 percent in October. Apparel prices fell 2.9 percent, reflecting seasonal sales. Despite little change in residential and owners' equivalent rent, shelter prices were pulled down 0.1 percent due to lower charges for out-of-town lodging. Price reductions were also reported for used and leased cars and trucks. In contrast, medical care posted a 0.4-percent increase for the third time in four months.

From November 2010 to November 2011, the index for all items less food and energy rose 2.5 percent. Shelter prices increased 2.2 percent, weighed down by a 1.9-percent rise in owners' equivalent rent. Apparel prices rose 2.9 percent. Medical care prices advanced 3.6 percent, registering the highest 12-month change since January 2008.

Table A. New York-Northern New Jersey CPI-U monthly and annual percent changes (not seasonally adjusted)

Month	2006		2007		2008		2009		2010		2011
	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual
January	0.8	3.7	0.2	2.7	0.2	3.7	0.2	1.5	0.2	2.4	0.3	1.5
February	0.2	3.6	0.6	3.1	0.5	3.6	0.5	1.6	0.0	1.8	0.5	2.1
March	0.8	2.7	0.7	2.9	0.9	3.8	0.2	0.8	0.5	2.1	0.7	2.3
April	0.9	3.6	0.5	2.5	0.3	3.6	0.2	0.8	0.2	2.1	0.4	2.5
May	0.6	4.8	0.6	2.5	1.0	4.0	0.2	-0.1	0.2	2.2	0.6	2.9
June	0.5	5.6	0.5	2.5	1.0	4.5	0.5	-0.6	-0.1	1.5	0.2	3.2
July	0.2	5.0	0.2	2.5	0.7	5.1	0.2	-1.1	0.1	1.5	0.3	3.3
August	0.4	4.7	-0.1	1.9	0.1	5.4	0.3	-0.9	0.2	1.4	0.4	3.5
September	-0.5	3.3	0.0	2.4	-0.2	5.2	0.1	-0.6	0.0	1.2	0.2	3.8
October	-0.5	2.4	0.1	3.1	-0.7	4.3	-0.1	0.0	0.2	1.5	-0.2	3.3
November	-0.4	2.6	0.4	3.9	-1.6	2.2	0.2	1.8	0.0	1.3	-0.3	3.0
December	0.2	3.3	0.0	3.7	-0.6	1.6	-0.1	2.3	0.0	1.4

CPI-W

In November, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 245.546, down 0.3 percent over the month. The CPI-W increased 3.3 percent over the year.

The December 2011 Consumer Price Index for New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island is scheduled to be released on Thursday, January 19, 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-
	Sept. 2011	Oct. 2011	Nov. 2011	Nov. 2010	Sept. 2011	Oct. 2011
Expenditure category
All items	250.559	250.051	249.317	3.0	-0.5	-0.3
All items (1967=100)	724.331	722.862	720.740
Food and beverages	239.485	240.155	239.385	3.3	0.0	-0.3
Food	238.897	239.606	238.869	3.4	0.0	-0.3
Food at home	239.259	240.312	239.140	3.7	0.0	-0.5
Food away from home	244.746	245.045	244.831	3.1	0.0	-0.1
Alcoholic beverages	244.056	244.149	242.925	0.9	-0.5	-0.5
Housing	263.675	262.854	262.528	1.7	-0.4	-0.1
Shelter	320.128	320.655	320.318	2.2	0.1	-0.1
Rent of primary residence (1)	322.860	323.820	324.090	2.2	0.4	0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of residences (1) (2)	327.705	328.100	327.977	1.9	0.1	0.0
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence (1) (2)	327.590	327.983	327.849	1.9	0.1	0.0
Fuels and utilities	208.442	200.050	199.732	-0.1	-4.2	-0.2
Household energy	206.711	197.295	196.935	-0.4	-4.7	-0.2
Energy services (1)	193.096	181.957	181.240	-4.5	-6.1	-0.4
Electricity (1)	194.413	180.675	177.956	-4.1	-8.5	-1.5
Utility (piped) gas service (1)	183.742	178.691	182.399	-5.1	-0.7	2.1
Household furnishings and operations	120.678	120.356	120.032	-1.4	-0.5	-0.3
Apparel	129.120	130.489	126.712	2.9	-1.9	-2.9
Transportation	227.394	224.943	223.567	8.6	-1.7	-0.6
Private transportation	216.148	213.589	211.998	8.8	-1.9	-0.7
Motor fuel	290.859	278.707	274.793	19.3	-5.5	-1.4
Gasoline (all types)	290.095	277.757	273.528	19.1	-5.7	-1.5
Gasoline, unleaded regular (3)	293.682	280.644	276.093	18.8	-6.0	-1.6
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (3) (4)	290.541	279.482	275.866	19.9	-5.1	-1.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium (3)	283.403	272.727	269.327	19.6	-5.0	-1.2
Medical care	395.266	395.287	396.753	3.6	0.4	0.4
Recreation (5)	116.904	116.651	116.565	2.5	-0.3	-0.1
Education and communication (5)	137.840	138.075	138.172	1.4	0.2	0.1
Other goods and services	384.235	385.998	387.114	1.5	0.7	0.3
Commodity and service group
All items	250.559	250.051	249.317	3.0	-0.5	-0.3
Commodities	192.772	192.254	191.082	4.4	-0.9	-0.6
Commodities less food and beverages	160.619	159.568	158.268	5.3	-1.5	-0.8
Nondurables less food and beverages	204.658	203.183	200.774	7.3	-1.9	-1.2
Durables	104.414	103.890	103.939	0.9	-0.5	0.0
Services	300.169	299.664	299.282	2.3	-0.3	-0.1
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	243.993	243.470	242.667	3.0	-0.5	-0.3
All items less shelter	223.471	222.524	221.617	3.6	-0.8	-0.4
Commodities less food	164.138	163.115	161.810	5.0	-1.4	-0.8
Nondurables	224.796	224.304	222.623	5.2	-1.0	-0.7
Nondurables less food	207.442	206.046	203.692	6.8	-1.8	-1.1
Services less rent of shelter (2)	288.929	287.193	286.743	2.5	-0.8	-0.2
Services less medical care services	292.009	291.465	291.044	2.3	-0.3	-0.1
Energy	241.718	231.151	229.351	8.2	-5.1	-0.8
All items less energy	253.241	253.685	253.046	2.6	-0.1	-0.3
All items less food and energy	257.439	257.837	257.213	2.5	-0.1	-0.2
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.