News Release Information
12–713–NEW
Friday, April 13, 2012
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Technical information:
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- Martin Kohli (646) 264-3620
Consumer Price Index, New York-Northern New Jersey – March 2012
Area prices up 0.6 percent over the month and 2.6 percent over the year
Prices in the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.6 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Deborah A. Brown said the rise primarily reflected higher prices for apparel, often up in March, and energy. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)
For the year ended in March 2012, the CPI-U rose 2.6 percent, reflecting higher prices for shelter, food, and gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.5 percent. For both indexes, the 12-month percent increase has changed relatively little since December. (See table A.and chart 1.)
Food
The food index dipped 0.1 percent in March. The index for food at home dropped 0.4 percent, reflecting lower prices for milk and apples. By contrast, food away from home edged up 0.2 percent.
From March 2011 to March 2012, food rose 3.5 percent, with food at home rising 3.7 percent, and food away from home, 3.3 percent. (See table 1.)
Energy
The energy index advanced 2.8 percent in March, after increases of 1.7 percent in both January and February. Gasoline prices rose 4.4 percent—the third consecutive monthly increase. Natural gas prices, which had declined for the previous three months, increased 4.2 percent, the largest monthly rise since November 2009.
For the year ended in March 2012, energy rose 1.3 percent, with gasoline prices increasing 8.5 percent. In contrast, household energy services dropped 5.1 percent, largely due to a 14.5-percent decline in the price of natural gas. Natural gas has recorded over-the-year declines for 36 consecutive months.
All items less food and energy
The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.6 percent. Apparel prices, often higher at this time of year with the introduction of spring lines, jumped 6.0 percent. Shelter prices increased 0.4 percent, reflecting a 0.4-percent rise in owners' equivalent rent. Prices also rose for medical care, airline fares, and used cars.
Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 2.5 percent. Shelter prices increased 2.2 percent, with residential rent rising 2.3 percent. The indexes for medical care and recreation advanced 4.9 and 4.4 percent, respectively.
Month | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Monthly | Annual | Monthly | Annual | Monthly | Annual | Monthly | Annual | Monthly | Annual | Monthly | Annual | |
January |
0.2 | 2.7 | 0.2 | 3.7 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 2.8 |
February |
0.6 | 3.1 | 0.5 | 3.6 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 0.0 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 2.6 |
March |
0.7 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 3.8 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 2.6 |
April |
0.5 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 3.6 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 2.5 | ||
May |
0.6 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 0.2 | -0.1 | 0.2 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 2.9 | ||
June |
0.5 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 4.5 | 0.5 | -0.6 | -0.1 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 3.2 | ||
July |
0.2 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 5.1 | 0.2 | -1.1 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 3.3 | ||
August |
-0.1 | 1.9 | 0.1 | 5.4 | 0.3 | -0.9 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 3.5 | ||
September |
0.0 | 2.4 | -0.2 | 5.2 | 0.1 | -0.6 | 0.0 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 3.8 | ||
October |
0.1 | 3.1 | -0.7 | 4.3 | -0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 1.5 | -0.2 | 3.3 | ||
November |
0.4 | 3.9 | -1.6 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 1.3 | -0.3 | 3.0 | ||
December |
0.0 | 3.7 | -0.6 | 1.6 | -0.1 | 2.3 | 0.0 | 1.4 | -0.4 | 2.7 |
CPI-W
In March, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 248.152, up 0.7 percent over the month. The CPI-W increased 2.7 percent over the year.
The April 2012 Consumer Price Index for New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).
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 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 12:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET.
Item and Group | Indexes | Percent change from- | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jan. 2012 |
Feb. 2012 |
Mar. 2012 |
Mar. 2011 |
Jan. 2012 |
Feb. 2012 |
|
Expenditure category |
||||||
All items |
249.322 | 250.285 | 251.887 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 0.6 |
All items (1967=100) |
720.754 | 723.540 | 728.171 | |||
Food and beverages |
242.539 | 242.470 | 242.203 | 3.3 | -0.1 | -0.1 |
Food |
242.086 | 242.208 | 241.884 | 3.5 | -0.1 | -0.1 |
Food at home |
243.238 | 243.360 | 242.428 | 3.7 | -0.3 | -0.4 |
Food away from home |
247.043 | 247.169 | 247.632 | 3.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
Alcoholic beverages |
245.153 | 242.387 | 242.927 | 0.6 | -0.9 | 0.2 |
Housing |
262.677 | 262.504 | 263.648 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
Shelter |
320.412 | 320.751 | 322.080 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
Rent of primary residence (1) |
324.920 | 324.670 | 325.323 | 2.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
328.120 | 327.814 | 328.984 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 0.4 | |
327.973 | 327.659 | 328.833 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 0.4 | |
Fuels and utilities |
197.277 | 194.362 | 196.419 | -4.3 | -0.4 | 1.1 |
Household energy |
194.115 | 190.831 | 193.145 | -5.1 | -0.5 | 1.2 |
Energy services (1) |
177.444 | 172.204 | 174.637 | -6.9 | -1.6 | 1.4 |
Electricity (1) |
178.691 | 175.962 | 176.213 | -3.0 | -1.4 | 0.1 |
Utility (piped) gas service (1) |
169.534 | 159.461 | 166.159 | -14.5 | -2.0 | 4.2 |
Household furnishings and operations |
122.360 | 122.507 | 122.266 | 0.8 | -0.1 | -0.2 |
Apparel |
119.285 | 119.832 | 127.061 | 1.9 | 6.5 | 6.0 |
Transportation |
222.709 | 226.009 | 228.950 | 4.4 | 2.8 | 1.3 |
Private transportation |
212.431 | 215.867 | 218.496 | 5.0 | 2.9 | 1.2 |
Motor fuel |
273.712 | 288.323 | 300.810 | 8.4 | 9.9 | 4.3 |
Gasoline (all types) |
272.330 | 287.100 | 299.659 | 8.5 | 10.0 | 4.4 |
Gasoline, unleaded regular (3) |
275.529 | 291.156 | 304.028 | 8.4 | 10.3 | 4.4 |
272.921 | 286.330 | 298.680 | 8.6 | 9.4 | 4.3 | |
Gasoline, unleaded premium (3) |
266.482 | 278.905 | 290.438 | 8.8 | 9.0 | 4.1 |
Medical care |
407.792 | 408.337 | 409.317 | 4.9 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
Recreation (5) |
117.031 | 118.512 | 118.547 | 4.4 | 1.3 | 0.0 |
Education and communication (5) |
138.439 | 138.570 | 138.471 | 2.1 | 0.0 | -0.1 |
Other goods and services |
387.179 | 388.643 | 391.090 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 0.6 |
Commodity and service group |
||||||
All items |
249.322 | 250.285 | 251.887 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 0.6 |
Commodities |
191.069 | 192.473 | 194.735 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 1.2 |
Commodities less food and beverages |
156.761 | 158.812 | 162.193 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 2.1 |
Nondurables less food and beverages |
197.447 | 201.293 | 207.455 | 3.9 | 5.1 | 3.1 |
Durables |
104.666 | 104.634 | 104.776 | 2.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
Services |
299.385 | 299.875 | 300.914 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
Special aggregate indexes |
||||||
All items less medical care |
242.332 | 243.263 | 244.878 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 0.7 |
All items less shelter |
221.559 | 222.789 | 224.500 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 0.8 |
Commodities less food |
160.404 | 162.316 | 165.626 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 2.0 |
Nondurables |
222.279 | 224.297 | 227.455 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 1.4 |
Nondurables less food |
200.648 | 204.127 | 209.984 | 3.6 | 4.7 | 2.9 |
Services less rent of shelter (2) |
286.935 | 287.545 | 288.292 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
Services less medical care services |
290.660 | 291.014 | 292.085 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
Energy |
227.181 | 230.974 | 237.342 | 1.3 | 4.5 | 2.8 |
All items less energy |
253.300 | 253.938 | 255.079 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 0.4 |
All items less food and energy |
256.953 | 257.658 | 259.089 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 0.6 |
Footnotes |
||||||
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. |
Last Modified Date: May 15, 2012