News Release Information
13–316–NEW
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Contacts
Technical information:
- (646) 264-3600
- BLSInfoNY@bls.gov
- www.bls.gov/ro2
Media contact:
- Martin Kohli (646) 264-3620
Consumer Price Index, Northeast Region – January 2013
Regional prices up 0.3 percent over the month; 1.8 percent over the year
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Northeast region edged up 0.3 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Martin Kohli, the Bureau’s chief regional economist, noted that the recent increase was due largely to a one-month advance in the all items less food and energy index (0.2 percent). The indexes for energy and food also increased since December, up 1.1 and 0.7 percent, respectively. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)
For the third consecutive month, the CPI-U and its largest component, all items less food and energy, each posted over-the-year price advances of 1.8 percent.. (See chart 1 and table A.) The indexes for food and energy also rose since January 2012, up 1.7 percent each. (See table 1.)
Food
The food index rose 0.7 percent in January. Prices for food at home and food away from home increased over the month, up 1.0 and 0.2 percent, respectively.
Over the last 12 months, the food index rose 1.7 percent as both of its components—food at home and food away from home—posted identical price increases of 1.7 percent. Over-the-year price advances for food away from home have remained uninterrupted since the inception of the index in 1977. The food at home index has posted consecutive 12-month price increases for the last 34 months.
Energy
The energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, rose 1.1 percent since December. The one-month increase was due mostly to a 4.4-percent advance in electricity prices. Utility (piped) gas service prices were also higher in January, up 0.8 percent. Moderating the overall increase in the energy index were lower gasoline prices, down 0.4 percent.
Energy prices increased 1.7 percent over the year, primarily reflecting a 2.2-percent advance in gasoline prices. Electricity prices also rose since January 2012, up 2.0 percent. Partially offsetting these increases was the 27th consecutive over-the-year decrease in utility (piped) gas service prices, down 0.4 percent.
All items less food and energy
The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.2 percent in January, led by an increase in education and communication prices, up 0.4 percent. Prices were also higher for various other components including recreation (0.5 percent), and shelter (0.1 percent). Moderating the advance in the all items less food and energy index was a smaller-than-usual seasonal decrease in apparel prices, down 0.8 percent over the month.
The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.8 percent over the year. The 12-month advance was led by higher prices for shelter (2.1 percent), particularly those for owners’ equivalent rent of residences (1.9 percent). Widespread price increases among other components, including medical care (2.1 percent) and education and communication (1.3 percent), also contributed to the rise in the all items less food and energy index since January 2012.
The February 2013 Consumer Price Index for the Northeast region is scheduled to be released on March 15, 2013, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).
Month | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2012 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Monthly | Annual | Monthly | Annual | Monthly | Annual | Monthly | Annual | Monthly | Annual | Monthly | Annual | |
January |
0.4 | 3.9 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 3.0 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 2.9 | 0.3 | 1.8 |
February |
0.4 | 4.0 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 0.4 | 2.8 | ||
March |
0.8 | 3.9 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 2.6 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 2.5 | ||
April |
0.5 | 3.9 | 0.2 | -0.1 | 0.2 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 2.3 | ||
May |
0.9 | 4.3 | 0.1 | -0.8 | 0.2 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 3.2 | -0.1 | 1.7 | ||
June |
1.1 | 5.0 | 0.8 | -1.2 | -0.1 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 3.4 | -0.2 | 1.5 | ||
July |
0.8 | 5.7 | 0.1 | -1.9 | 0.0 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 3.6 | -0.1 | 1.1 | ||
August |
-0.3 | 5.5 | 0.3 | -1.2 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 3.8 | 0.5 | 1.3 | ||
September |
-0.4 | 5.2 | 0.1 | -0.7 | -0.1 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 4.0 | 0.5 | 1.7 | ||
October |
-0.9 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 1.5 | -0.1 | 3.6 | 0.1 | 1.9 | ||
November |
-1.6 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 1.5 | -0.1 | 3.2 | -0.2 | 1.8 | ||
December |
-0.9 | 0.7 | -0.1 | 2.8 | 0.0 | 1.6 | -0.3 | 2.9 | -0.3 | 1.8 |
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 26,000 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 Northeast region is comprised of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
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.
Item and Group | Indexes | Percent change from- | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nov. 2012 |
Dec. 2012 |
Jan. 2013 |
Jan. 2012 |
Nov. 2012 |
Dec. 2012 |
|
Expenditure category |
||||||
All items |
247.097 | 246.456 | 247.277 | 1.8 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
All items (1967=100) |
389.102 | 388.094 | 389.386 | |||
Food and beverages |
241.471 | 241.478 | 243.031 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
Food |
241.348 | 241.343 | 242.947 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
Food at home |
240.353 | 240.583 | 243.016 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 1.0 |
Food away from home |
245.850 | 245.498 | 245.899 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
Alcoholic beverages |
241.671 | 241.849 | 242.663 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
Housing |
253.107 | 253.294 | 254.299 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
Shelter |
304.677 | 304.891 | 305.150 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
Rent of primary residence (1) |
303.148 | 303.907 | 304.407 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
316.662 | 317.162 | 317.244 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 0.0 | |
316.559 | 317.061 | 317.150 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 0.0 | |
Fuels and utilities |
218.862 | 219.324 | 224.304 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 2.3 |
Household energy |
198.327 | 198.798 | 204.026 | 1.2 | 2.9 | 2.6 |
Energy servides (1) |
185.133 | 185.523 | 191.488 | 1.2 | 3.4 | 3.2 |
Electricity (1) |
182.728 | 182.119 | 190.050 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.4 |
Utility (piped) gas service (1) |
178.991 | 181.438 | 182.953 | -0.4 | 2.2 | 0.8 |
Household furnishings and operations |
128.044 | 127.926 | 128.521 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
Apparel |
132.110 | 127.979 | 126.919 | 1.9 | -3.9 | -0.8 |
Transportation |
216.923 | 214.789 | 214.909 | 2.0 | -0.9 | 0.1 |
Private transportation |
210.087 | 207.722 | 207.800 | 1.6 | -1.1 | 0.0 |
New and used motor vehicles (3) |
98.381 | 98.645 | 99.084 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.4 |
New vehicles |
143.698 | 143.947 | 144.976 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 0.7 |
99.580 | 99.763 | 100.480 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 0.7 | |
New cars (3) |
139.699 | 139.806 | 140.590 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
Used cars and trucks |
155.078 | 154.570 | 154.679 | -1.2 | -0.3 | 0.1 |
Motor fuel |
308.659 | 295.805 | 294.479 | 2.2 | -4.6 | -0.4 |
Gasoline (all types) |
307.372 | 294.352 | 293.045 | 2.2 | -4.7 | -0.4 |
Gasoline, unleaded regular (4) |
308.476 | 294.974 | 293.474 | 1.8 | -4.9 | -0.5 |
313.995 | 301.680 | 300.805 | 3.2 | -4.2 | -0.3 | |
Gasoline, unleaded premium (5) |
298.012 | 286.760 | 286.168 | 3.8 | -4.0 | -0.2 |
Medical care |
440.321 | 439.991 | 441.430 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
Medical care commodities |
365.054 | 362.335 | 362.800 | -0.6 | -0.6 | 0.1 |
Medical care services |
459.764 | 460.424 | 462.228 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
Professional services |
342.947 | 344.245 | 345.730 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.4 |
Recreation (3) |
119.708 | 119.549 | 120.172 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
Education and communication (3) |
135.974 | 135.752 | 136.358 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
Other goods and services |
428.698 | 429.778 | 430.507 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
Commodity and service group |
||||||
All items |
247.097 | 246.456 | 247.277 | 1.8 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
Commodities |
195.129 | 193.360 | 193.971 | 1.1 | -0.6 | 0.3 |
Commodities less food and beverages |
167.214 | 164.739 | 164.915 | 0.8 | -1.4 | 0.1 |
Nondurables less food and beverages |
217.899 | 213.169 | 212.934 | 1.2 | -2.3 | -0.1 |
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel |
284.546 | 279.211 | 279.514 | 1.1 | -1.8 | 0.1 |
Durables |
110.596 | 110.419 | 110.985 | -0.1 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
Services |
298.130 | 298.553 | 299.578 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
Rent of shelter (2) |
318.677 | 318.822 | 319.095 | 2.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
Transportation services |
263.546 | 265.298 | 265.628 | 3.0 | 0.8 | 0.1 |
Other services |
346.278 | 346.387 | 347.514 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
Special aggregate indexes |
||||||
All items less medical care |
238.549 | 237.900 | 238.694 | 1.8 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
All items less food |
248.467 | 247.721 | 248.413 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
All items less shelter |
227.920 | 226.958 | 227.993 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
Commodities less food |
170.164 | 167.749 | 167.943 | 0.8 | -1.3 | 0.1 |
Nondurables |
230.895 | 228.343 | 228.943 | 1.5 | -0.8 | 0.3 |
Nondurables less food |
219.274 | 214.802 | 214.622 | 1.2 | -2.1 | -0.1 |
Nondurables less food and apparel |
278.296 | 273.485 | 273.830 | 1.1 | -1.6 | 0.1 |
Services less rent of shelter (2) |
301.654 | 302.409 | 304.328 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 0.6 |
Services less medical care services |
286.874 | 287.280 | 288.254 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
Energy |
244.421 | 239.396 | 241.935 | 1.7 | -1.0 | 1.1 |
All items less energy |
249.751 | 249.569 | 250.215 | 1.8 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
All items less food and energy |
252.844 | 252.629 | 253.098 | 1.8 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
Commodities less food and energy commodities |
151.994 | 150.794 | 151.137 | 0.4 | -0.6 | 0.2 |
Energy commodities |
320.113 | 309.303 | 308.558 | 2.0 | -3.6 | -0.2 |
Services less energy services |
309.271 | 309.697 | 310.232 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
Footnotes |
||||||
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. |
Last Modified Date: February 22, 2013
calculators
- Inflation
- Location Quotient
- Injury And Illness