Prices in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), ticked up 0.1 percent in November, following no change in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli attributed the November change to rising prices for energy and shelter. (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 advanced 1.8 percent. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.2 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 dropped 0.8 percent after increasing 0.5 percent in October. Lower prices were recorded in all six grocery groups, sending the index for food at home down 1.5 percent. Among the groceries with lower prices in November were chicken and flour. In contrast, prices for food away from home inched up 0.1 percent.

Over the year, the food index increased 1.3 percent. Prices for food away from home were up 2.9 percent, and prices for food at home were virtually unchanged.

Energy

The energy index increased 1.3 percent after a string of four consecutive declines. A 2.2-percent rise in household energy prices led to the upturn, with price increases recorded for natural gas (3.0 percent) and for electricity (1.8 percent). In contrast, a dip in gasoline prices (-0.1 percent) marked a sixth consecutive decline.   

From November 2018 to November 2019, the energy index decreased 2.1 percent, primarily because of gasoline prices, which were down 5.8 percent. Household energy prices, on the other hand, were up 0.7 percent, with higher prices recorded for electricity (1.7 percent) and for natural gas (2.4 percent).

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy ticked up 0.1 percent in November. Shelter edged up 0.2 percent, with owners’ equivalent rent advancing 0.5 percent and residential rent rising 0.4 percent. Other categories with price increases included motor vehicle insurance (2.0 percent), education and communication (0.3 percent), and recreation (0.2 percent). These increases were largely offset by a seasonal decline in apparel prices (-3.6 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.2 percent. A 2.1-percent increase in shelter prices included a 3.0-percent rise in residential rent and a 2.0-percent increase in owners’ equivalent rent. Medical care prices rose 4.4 percent. A 3.9-percent rise in prices for tuition, other school fees, and childcare contributed to a 3.1-percent increase in prices for education and communication. Recreation prices rose 2.8 percent. In contrast, apparel prices declined 2.4 percent since last November.

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	0.3	1.7
July	0.1	1.6	-0.1	-0.1	-0.1	1.0	-0.2	1.6	0.0	2.2	0.0	1.7
August	-0.2	1.3	0.1	0.1	0.2	1.1	0.2	1.7	0.1	2.2	0.2	1.8
September	0.0	1.0	0.2	0.3	0.2	1.0	0.5	2.1	0.4	2.0	0.0	1.4
October	-0.2	1.3	-0.1	0.4	0.1	1.2	-0.2	1.8	-0.1	2.0	0.0	1.5
November	-0.4	0.8	-0.2	0.6	0.2	1.6	-0.1	1.6	-0.2	1.9	0.1	1.8
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-W

In November, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 273.627, up 0.1 percent over the month. The CPI-W rose 1.7 percent over the year.

The December 2019 Consumer Price Index for New York-Newark-Jersey City is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, January 14, 2020, 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.