The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Northeast region inched down 0.1 percent in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that an over-the-month decrease in the energy index (-2.8 percent) was nearly offset by increases in both the all items less food and energy (0.1 percent) and food (0.3 percent) indexes. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 3.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The all items less food and energy index and the energy index advanced over the year, up 2.3 and 13.7 percent, respectively. Also contributing to the recent increase in the all items index were higher prices for food, which rose 4.6 percent since October 2010. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index rose 0.3 percent in October as its two components, the food at home and food away from home indexes, recorded identical 0.3-percent increases. Prices for food at home rose uninterrupted for the last 6 months and those for food away from home, for the last 11 months.

Over the year, the food index rose 4.6 percent. Prices for the food at home and food away from home components were up 5.8 and 3.0 percent, respectively, since last October.

Energy

The energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, fell 2.8 percent since September, due mainly to a decline in the gasoline index. Gasoline prices decreased for the fifth straight month, down 11.8 percent since May and 3.9 percent since September. Electricity prices were also lower in October, posting a 3.1-percent seasonal decrease. Partially offsetting these declines, utility (piped) gas service prices edged up 0.3 percent over the month.

Despite its recent 1-month decline, the energy index advanced 13.7 percent over the year, due in large part to a 25.1-percent jump in gasoline prices since October 2010. Electricity prices also increased over the year, up 0.4 percent, while the utility (piped) gas service index posted its 12th straight over-the-year decline, down 4.6 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy inched up 0.1 percent since September. Higher prices for apparel (1.5 percent) and recreation (0.4 percent) contributed to the recent advance. Nearly offsetting these and other increases were lower prices in a number of categories including used cars and trucks (-1.0 percent) and education and communication (-0.2 percent).

Over the last 12 months, the index for all items less food and energy rose 2.3 percent—the largest over-the-year increase since December 2009.  The recent gain was led by an increase in the shelter index, up 2.0 percent over the year. Higher prices for medical care (3.3 percent) and apparel (4.9 percent) also contributed to the advance in the all items less food and energy index since October 2010.

The November 2011 Consumer Price Index for the Northeast region is scheduled to be released on December 16, 2011, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

Table A. Northeast region CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index (not seasonally adjusted)

Month	2006		2007		2008		2009		2010		2011
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	1.0	4.1	0.3	2.3	0.4	3.9	0.2	0.5	0.4	3.0	0.4	1.6
February	0.3	3.9	0.4	2.4	0.4	4.0	0.6	0.7	0.0	2.5	0.5	2.0
March	0.6	3.3	0.8	2.6	0.8	3.9	0.2	0.2	0.3	2.6	0.8	2.5
April	0.9	3.8	0.5	2.2	0.5	3.9	0.2	-0.1	0.2	2.5	0.5	2.8
May	0.5	4.6	0.5	2.3	0.9	4.3	0.1	-0.8	0.2	2.6	0.5	3.2
June	0.5	5.1	0.4	2.3	1.1	5.0	0.8	-1.2	-0.1	1.7	0.1	3.4
July	0.4	4.6	0.2	2.0	0.8	5.7	0.1	-1.9	0.0	1.6	0.2	3.6
August	0.3	4.5	-0.2	1.6	-0.3	5.5	0.3	-1.2	0.1	1.4	0.3	3.8
September	-0.8	2.6	-0.1	2.4	-0.4	5.2	0.1	-0.7	-0.1	1.2	0.1	4.0
October	-0.5	1.7	0.2	3.1	-0.9	4.0	0.0	0.2	0.3	1.5	-0.1	3.6
November	-0.2	2.3	0.6	4.0	-1.6	1.7	0.2	2.0	0.2	1.5
December	0.2	3.0	0.0	3.8	-0.9	0.7	-0.1	2.8	0.0	1.6

 

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 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.

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For personal assistance or further information on Consumer Price Indexes, as well as other Bureau products, contact the Mid-Atlantic Information Office at (215) 597-3282 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods, Northeast Region, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from
	Historical data	Aug. 2011	Sep. 2011	Oct. 2011	Oct. 2010	Aug. 2011	Sep. 2011
All items		243.033	243.323	243.014	3.6	0.0	-0.1
All items (December 1977 = 100)		382.703	383.159	382.674
Food and beverages		235.816	236.731	237.413	4.4	0.7	0.3
Food		235.601	236.533	237.253	4.6	0.7	0.3
Food at home		235.239	236.477	237.219	5.8	0.8	0.3
Food away from home		239.049	239.573	240.273	3.0	0.5	0.3
Alcoholic beverages		237.344	238.015	238.173	1.1	0.3	0.1
Housing		249.693	249.617	249.091	2.1	-0.2	-0.2
Shelter		298.749	298.435	298.371	2.0	-0.1	0.0
Rent of primary residence (1)		294.568	295.088	295.974	2.2	0.5	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of residences (1) (2)		309.089	309.799	310.193	2.0	0.4	0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence (1) (2)		309.030	309.727	310.127	2.0	0.4	0.1
Fuels and utilities		223.384	224.137	220.827	3.9	-1.1	-1.5
Household energy		204.837	205.425	201.869	3.7	-1.4	-1.7
Energy services (1) (3)		194.476	195.563	191.369	-1.1	-1.6	-2.1
Electricity (1)		192.913	195.468	189.461	0.4	-1.8	-3.1
Utility (piped) gas service (1)		184.983	182.363	182.943	-4.6	-1.1	0.3
Household furnishings and operations		126.947	127.068	126.944	0.8	0.0	-0.1
Apparel		126.635	130.676	132.618	4.9	4.7	1.5
Transportation		215.368	214.535	212.273	9.6	-1.4	-1.1
Private transportation		208.705	207.774	205.452	9.6	-1.6	-1.1
New and used motor vehicles (4)		100.518	100.285	99.927	3.5	-0.6	-0.4
New vehicles		141.701	141.726	141.854	3.2	0.1	0.1
New cars and trucks (4) (5)		98.198	98.220	98.309	3.2	0.1	0.1
New cars (5)		138.558	138.727	138.696	3.3	0.1	0.0
Used cars and trucks		164.085	162.454	160.764	6.9	-2.0	-1.0
Motor fuel		308.070	303.600	291.909	25.0	-5.2	-3.9
Gasoline (all types)		307.192	302.672	290.809	25.1	-5.3	-3.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular (5)		309.268	304.431	292.140	25.1	-5.5	-4.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (5) (6)		311.364	307.507	296.364	25.2	-4.8	-3.6
Gasoline, unleaded premium (5)		294.521	291.077	280.638	24.3	-4.7	-3.6
Medical care		422.552	424.205	425.368	3.3	0.7	0.3
Medical care commodities		354.246	355.601	356.728	4.2	0.7	0.3
Medical care services		439.592	441.325	442.474	3.1	0.7	0.3
Professional services		337.198	338.223	338.636	2.1	0.4	0.1
Recreation (4)		119.103	118.198	118.628	0.1	-0.4	0.4
Education and communication (4)		134.167	134.976	134.683	0.6	0.4	-0.2
Other goods and services		417.365	418.182	420.094	2.1	0.7	0.5
Commodity and service group
Commodities		192.548	192.941	192.474	6.0	0.0	-0.2
Commodities less food and beverages		166.018	166.174	165.242	7.0	-0.5	-0.6
Nondurables less food and beverages		214.308	214.973	213.447	10.0	-0.4	-0.7
Durables		111.755	111.405	111.095	1.7	-0.6	-0.3
Services		292.625	292.818	292.659	2.1	0.0	-0.1
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		224.515	225.034	224.631	4.3	0.1	-0.2
All items less medical care		235.005	235.245	234.886	3.6	-0.1	-0.2
Commodities less food		168.872	169.044	168.137	6.7	-0.4	-0.5
Nondurables		226.382	227.169	226.641	7.2	0.1	-0.2
Nondurables less food		215.637	216.302	214.866	9.4	-0.4	-0.7
Services less rent of shelter (2)		296.403	297.192	296.933	2.2	0.2	-0.1
Services less medical care services		282.188	282.301	282.077	2.0	0.0	-0.1
Energy		248.273	246.723	239.732	13.7	-3.4	-2.8
All items less energy		244.840	245.323	245.704	2.6	0.4	0.2
All items less food and energy		248.055	248.459	248.780	2.3	0.3	0.1
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) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (3) This index series was formerly titled Gas (piped) and electricity. (4) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (5) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (6) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.