Prices in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), edged up 0.2 percent in May after rising 0.3 percent during each of the two prior months, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli attributed the rise to price increases for gasoline and non-energy expenditures that were partly offset by a decline in food prices. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the year, the CPI-U increased 1.5 percent. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.9 percent. (See table A and chart 1.) Price increases for shelter drove the 12-month change in both indexes. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index dipped 0.2 percent for the second consecutive month in May. Prices for food at home fell 0.7 percent, with price declines in four of the six grocery groups. Groceries with lower prices in May included lettuce and snacks. In contrast, prices for food away from home rose 0.3 percent.

From May 2018 to May 2019, the food index increased 1.3 percent. Food-away-from-home prices rose 2.2 percent, while food-at-home prices increased 0.7 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 1.7 percent, following a 1.9-percent increase in April. Gasoline prices climbed 5.7 percent, marking the third consecutive month with prices increases exceeding 5.0 percent. In contrast, prices for household energy declined 1.3 percent, with price reductions recorded for electricity (-1.7 percent) and for natural gas (-1.1 percent).  

Over the year, the energy index declined 3.6 percent. Household energy prices decreased 5.4 percent, pulled down by declines of 7.5 percent for electricity prices and 5.2 percent for natural gas prices. Area gasoline prices decreased 0.7 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent, marking a fifth consecutive increase. Apparel prices rose 1.2 percent, following declines during the prior two months. Airline fares were up, as were prices for recreation (0.4 percent) and other goods and services (0.4 percent). Medical care and education and communication each recorded increases of 0.2 percent. Shelter prices, by contrast, were unchanged; a 0.2-percent increase in residential rent was offset by a decline in out-of-town lodging.

For the year ended in May 2019, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.9 percent. A 2.2-percent increase in shelter prices included a 3.1-percent rise in residential rent and a 1.8-percent increase in owners’ equivalent rent. Following shelter, the next largest contributor to the change in the index for all items less food and energy was medical care, which rose 4.3 percent. The 12-month change for medical care was the largest in more than two years. Price increases were also recorded for recreation (3.1 percent) and for alcoholic beverages (3.0 percent). Prices for education and communication rose 2.3 percent, buoyed up by a 3.4-percent rise in tuition, other school fees, and childcare.

Table A. New York-Newark-Jersey City CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes (not seasonally adjusted)

Month	2014		2015		2016		2017		2018		2019
	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	0.9	1.9	0.1	-0.5	0.2	0.8	0.6	2.5	0.4	1.4	0.5	1.6
February	-0.2	1.1	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.6	0.3	2.6	0.5	1.7	0.2	1.3
March	0.4	1.3	0.2	-0.1	0.2	0.7	0.0	2.3	0.0	1.7	0.3	1.6
April	0.0	1.6	0.1	0.0	0.4	1.0	0.1	2.0	0.3	1.9	0.3	1.6
May	0.5	1.9	0.4	-0.1	0.3	0.9	0.1	1.8	0.4	2.2	0.2	1.5
June	0.0	1.7	0.2	0.1	0.2(R)	0.9(R)	0.2	1.8	0.1	2.0
July	0.1	1.6	-0.1	-0.1	-0.1	1.0	-0.2	1.6	0.0	2.2
August	-0.2	1.3	0.1	0.1	0.2	1.1	0.2	1.7	0.1	2.2
September	0.0	1.0	0.2	0.3	0.2	1.0	0.5	2.1	0.4	2.0
October	-0.2	1.3	-0.1	0.4	0.1	1.2	-0.2	1.8	-0.1	2.0
November	-0.4	0.8	-0.2	0.6	0.2	1.6	-0.1	1.6	-0.2	1.9
December	-0.5	0.3	-0.4	0.7	0.1	2.1	0.1	1.6	-0.2	1.6
Footnotes: (R) = revised.

CPI-WIn May, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 272.726, up 0.3 percent over the month. The CPI-W rose 1.4 percent over the year.

The June 2019 Consumer Price Index for New York-Newark-Jersey City is scheduled to be released on Thursday, July 11, 2019, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

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 93 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 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 75 urban areas across the country from about 5,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 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/pdf/homch17.pdf.

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-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa., Core Based Statistical Area includes Bronx, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties in New York; Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, and Union Counties in New Jersey; and Pike County in Pennsylvania.

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.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods, New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, not seasonally adjusted
(1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	March 2019	April 2019	May 2019	May 2018	March 2019	April 2019
Expenditure category
All items	276.570	277.441	278.068	1.5	0.5	0.2
All items (1967=100)	799.526	802.042	803.857
Food and beverages	270.636	270.123	269.707	1.4	-0.3	-0.2
Food	270.756	270.294	269.643	1.3	-0.4	-0.2
Food at home	259.546	258.348	256.611	0.7	-1.1	-0.7
Cereals and bakery products	306.981	300.794	306.056	2.1	-0.3	1.7
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	254.454	254.478	249.685	-0.1	-1.9	-1.9
Dairy and related products	225.649	227.752	224.001	1.0	-0.7	-1.6
Fruits and vegetables	334.342	325.386	328.599	0.0	-1.7	1.0
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	248.616	255.104	251.206	3.1	1.0	-1.5
Other food at home	230.412	229.749	226.441	-0.3	-1.7	-1.4
Food away from home	293.993	294.575	295.465	2.2	0.5	0.3
Alcoholic beverages	264.415	263.215	266.044	3.0	0.6	1.1
Housing	301.791	302.413	302.192	1.4	0.1	-0.1
Shelter	382.414	384.220	384.085	2.2	0.4	0.0
Rent of primary residence	396.754	398.932	399.681	3.1	0.7	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	388.962	389.944	389.868	1.8	0.2	0.0
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	388.481	389.461	389.385	1.8	0.2	0.0
Fuels and utilities	196.239	192.664	190.433	-4.8	-3.0	-1.2
Household energy	187.523	183.483	181.053	-5.9	-3.5	-1.3
Energy services	178.718	174.095	171.555	-6.7	-4.0	-1.5
Electricity	178.798	175.302	172.359	-7.5	-3.6	-1.7
Utility (piped) gas service	168.262	162.164	160.395	-5.2	-4.7	-1.1
Household furnishings and operations	109.961	109.450	110.371	0.4	0.4	0.8
Apparel	125.298	120.552	122.042	-4.9	-2.6	1.2
Transportation	218.283	223.336	226.897	0.4	3.9	1.6
Private transportation	205.715	210.603	212.972	0.3	3.5	1.1
New and used motor vehicles(3)	91.127	91.015	90.026	-1.7	-1.2	-1.1
New vehicles(1)	204.123	204.534	204.301	1.7	0.1	-0.1
Used cars and trucks(1)	269.956	270.612	267.819	0.6	-0.8	-1.0
Motor fuel	208.752	225.223	238.052	-0.7	14.0	5.7
Gasoline (all types)	207.720	224.169	236.979	-0.7	14.1	5.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	206.468	223.441	236.450	-0.7	14.5	5.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	216.774	228.991	241.485	-0.5	11.4	5.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	218.523	231.591	242.951	0.0	11.2	4.9
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	763.145	763.145	761.868	2.4	-0.2	-0.2
Medical care	504.067	504.551	505.462	4.3	0.3	0.2
Recreation(3)	124.499	125.593	126.044	3.1	1.2	0.4
Education and communication(3)	143.612	144.143	144.380	2.3	0.5	0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,204.282	1,204.276	1,205.871	3.4	0.1	0.1
Other goods and services	434.964	433.891	435.631	1.8	0.2	0.4
Commodity and service group
All items	276.570	277.441	278.068	1.5	0.5	0.2
Commodities	190.914	191.104	192.610	0.1	0.9	0.8
Commodities less food and beverages	143.120	143.619	145.914	-1.1	2.0	1.6
Nondurables less food and beverages	182.224	183.761	187.698	-1.6	3.0	2.1
Durables	93.649	92.979	93.358	0.2	-0.3	0.4
Services	348.744	350.122	350.182	2.0	0.4	0.0
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	266.692	267.579	268.195	1.3	0.6	0.2
All items less shelter	234.608	235.082	236.055	1.0	0.6	0.4
Commodities less food	147.646	148.097	150.422	-0.8	1.9	1.6
Nondurables	227.768	228.375	230.352	0.0	1.1	0.9
Nondurables less food	187.203	188.594	192.480	-1.3	2.8	2.1
Services less rent of shelter(2)	323.287	324.226	324.505	1.8	0.4	0.1
Services less medical care services	335.584	336.972	336.934	1.6	0.4	0.0
Energy	198.185	201.948	205.330	-3.6	3.6	1.7
All items less energy	286.132	286.722	287.082	1.9	0.3	0.1
All items less food and energy	290.772	291.529	292.048	1.9	0.4	0.2
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.