News Release Information
13–80–NEW
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Contacts
Technical information:
- (646) 264-3600
- BLSInfoNY@bls.gov
- www.bls.gov/ro2
Media contact:
- Martin Kohli (646) 264-3620
Consumer Price Index, New York-Northern New Jersey – December 2012
Area prices down 0.3 percent over the month and up 2.1 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), dropped 0.3 percent in December after no change in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli attributed the December decline to falling energy and food prices. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)
Over the year, the CPI-U advanced 2.1 percent. (See chart 1. and table A. ) The over-the-year increase was primarily due to higher prices for shelter. Food, gasoline, and medical care also contributed to the rise. The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.0 percent.
Food
The food index edged down 0.2 percent, following increases of 0.5 percent in November and 0.2 percent in October. The downturn was primarily attributable to a 0.3-percent decline in food away from home, the largest drop recorded since December 2004. Prices for food at home dipped 0.1 percent, with lower prices reported for bacon, cheese, apples, snacks, and ice cream.
For the year ended in December 2012, the food index increased 1.9 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 2.2 percent, and prices for food at home, 1.7 percent. (See table 1.)
Energy
The energy index fell 2.9 percent, after edging down 0.2 percent in November. Gasoline prices dropped 4.9 percent, following a 2.5-percent reduction in November. Household energy prices also declined (-0.9 percent), after rising 2.1 percent. The turnaround was largely due to electricity charges, which were 3.0 percent lower, after a 1.5-percent rise in November. In contrast, natural gas posted its third consecutive increase, 2.3 percent.
From December 2011 to December 2012, energy prices rose 3.6 percent. Gasoline prices increased 7.0 percent, and household energy prices rose 0.7 percent.
All items less food and energy
The index for all items less food and energy registered the third consecutive month of little or no change. Apparel, with seasonal sales, declined 1.8 percent. Recreation, another category often down in December, decreased 0.4 percent, reflecting price reductions for audio equipment, sports equipment, toys, and photographic equipment. Education and communication recorded a 0.2-percent decline, with lower prices for personal computers and delivery services. Medical care also edged down in December. Offsetting these declines, shelter rose 0.2 percent for the third straight month, and other goods and services also edged up, 0.2 percent.
Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.0 percent. Medical care prices rose 3.8 percent, and shelter prices, 2.4 percent. Apparel, recreation, and other goods and services recorded increases between 1.5 and 1.9 percent.
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 | 0.2 | 2.4 |
May |
0.6 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 0.2 | -0.1 | 0.2 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 2.9 | 0.1 | 1.8 |
June |
0.5 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 4.5 | 0.5 | -0.6 | -0.1 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 3.2 | -0.1 | 1.6 |
July |
0.2 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 5.1 | 0.2 | -1.1 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 3.3 | -0.2 | 1.1 |
August |
-0.1 | 1.9 | 0.1 | 5.4 | 0.3 | -0.9 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 3.5 | 0.6 | 1.4 |
September |
0.0 | 2.4 | -0.2 | 5.2 | 0.1 | -0.6 | 0.0 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 3.8 | 0.4 | 1.6 |
October |
0.1 | 3.1 | -0.7 | 4.3 | -0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 1.5 | -0.2 | 3.3 | -0.1 | 1.7 |
November |
0.4 | 3.9 | -1.6 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 1.3 | -0.3 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
December |
0.0 | 3.7 | -0.6 | 1.6 | -0.1 | 2.3 | 0.0 | 1.4 | -0.4 | 2.7 | -0.3 | 2.1 |
CPI-W
In December, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 249.535, down 0.4 percent over the month. The CPI-W increased 2.0 percent over the year.
The January 2013 Consumer Price Index for New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island is scheduled to be released on Thursday, February 21, 2013 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 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: 800-877-8339.
Item and Group | Indexes | Percent change from- | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oct. 2012 |
Nov. 2012 |
Dec. 2012 |
Dec. 2011 |
Oct. 2012 |
Nov. 2012 |
|
Expenditure category |
||||||
All items |
254.277 | 254.285 | 253.555 | 2.1 | -0.3 | -0.3 |
All items (1967=100) |
735.080 | 735.102 | 732.992 | |||
Food and beverages |
244.664 | 245.804 | 245.398 | 1.8 | 0.3 | -0.2 |
Food |
244.124 | 245.447 | 245.044 | 1.9 | 0.4 | -0.2 |
Food at home |
243.651 | 245.918 | 245.793 | 1.7 | 0.9 | -0.1 |
Food away from home |
251.262 | 251.385 | 250.607 | 2.2 | -0.3 | -0.3 |
Alcoholic beverages |
248.452 | 247.018 | 246.561 | 1.0 | -0.8 | -0.2 |
Housing |
265.971 | 266.862 | 267.015 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
Shelter |
325.920 | 326.465 | 327.068 | 2.4 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
Rent of primary residence (1) |
331.459 | 331.472 | 332.255 | 2.6 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
333.107 | 333.537 | 334.387 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 0.3 | |
332.931 | 333.356 | 334.204 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 0.3 | |
Fuels and utilities |
195.984 | 199.513 | 197.871 | 1.0 | 1.0 | -0.8 |
Household energy |
191.714 | 195.671 | 193.851 | 0.7 | 1.1 | -0.9 |
Energy services (1) |
173.670 | 178.249 | 176.034 | -0.1 | 1.4 | -1.2 |
Electricity (1) |
176.088 | 178.702 | 173.424 | -0.3 | -1.5 | -3.0 |
Utility (piped) gas service (1) |
163.547 | 171.892 | 175.836 | 0.1 | 7.5 | 2.3 |
Household furnishings and operations |
121.219 | 121.313 | 121.245 | -0.2 | 0.0 | -0.1 |
Apparel |
127.798 | 124.685 | 122.501 | 1.9 | -4.1 | -1.8 |
Transportation |
231.761 | 230.283 | 227.652 | 2.9 | -1.8 | -1.1 |
Private transportation |
220.964 | 218.921 | 216.153 | 2.7 | -2.2 | -1.3 |
Motor fuel |
306.696 | 299.131 | 284.817 | 6.9 | -7.1 | -4.8 |
Gasoline (all types) |
305.757 | 298.036 | 283.474 | 7.0 | -7.3 | -4.9 |
Gasoline, unleaded regular (3) |
309.072 | 300.564 | 285.379 | 6.8 | -7.7 | -5.1 |
307.346 | 301.433 | 288.152 | 7.8 | -6.2 | -4.4 | |
Gasoline, unleaded premium (3) |
299.865 | 294.184 | 281.033 | 7.7 | -6.3 | -4.5 |
Medical care |
413.925 | 415.741 | 414.838 | 3.8 | 0.2 | -0.2 |
Recreation (5) |
118.718 | 118.728 | 118.217 | 1.5 | -0.4 | -0.4 |
Education and communication (5) |
140.314 | 139.747 | 139.440 | 0.9 | -0.6 | -0.2 |
Other goods and services |
394.396 | 392.824 | 393.652 | 1.6 | -0.2 | 0.2 |
Commodity and service group |
||||||
All items |
254.277 | 254.285 | 253.555 | 2.1 | -0.3 | -0.3 |
Commodities |
195.641 | 194.840 | 192.935 | 1.6 | -1.4 | -1.0 |
Commodities less food and beverages |
162.300 | 160.594 | 158.053 | 1.5 | -2.6 | -1.6 |
Nondurables less food and beverages |
208.787 | 205.872 | 201.169 | 2.8 | -3.6 | -2.3 |
Durables |
103.515 | 103.228 | 103.201 | -1.3 | -0.3 | 0.0 |
Services |
304.573 | 305.271 | 305.543 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
Special aggregate indexes |
||||||
All items less medical care |
247.175 | 247.119 | 246.399 | 2.0 | -0.3 | -0.3 |
All items less shelter |
226.322 | 226.118 | 224.862 | 1.9 | -0.6 | -0.6 |
Commodities less food |
165.903 | 164.197 | 161.708 | 1.5 | -2.5 | -1.5 |
Nondurables |
229.353 | 228.348 | 225.643 | 2.3 | -1.6 | -1.2 |
Nondurables less food |
211.558 | 208.720 | 204.248 | 2.7 | -3.5 | -2.1 |
Services less rent of shelter (2) |
291.731 | 292.626 | 292.718 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
Services less medical care services |
295.653 | 296.312 | 296.580 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
Energy |
238.804 | 238.219 | 231.426 | 3.6 | -3.1 | -2.9 |
All items less energy |
257.578 | 257.644 | 257.508 | 2.0 | 0.0 | -0.1 |
All items less food and energy |
261.651 | 261.476 | 261.391 | 2.0 | -0.1 | 0.0 |
Footnotes |
||||||
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. |
Last Modified Date: January 16, 2013
calculators
- Inflation
- Location Quotient
- Injury And Illness