Prices in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), edged down 0.1 percent in July, following increases of 1.0 percent in June and 0.5 percent in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that lower prices for all items less food and energy were largely offset by increases in food and energy 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 rose 3.5 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.7 percent. Energy prices jumped 17.0 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. Food prices increased 3.4 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.8 percent for the month of July. Prices for food at home rose 0.9 percent. Five of the six grocery categories had price increases, with the largest increase in the meats, poultry, fish and eggs category (1.9 percent). Prices for food away from home increased 0.7 percent.

For the year ended in July 2021, food prices increased 3.4 percent. Prices for food away from home advanced 5.2 percent, while prices for food at home rose 1.9 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 0.4 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (2.6 percent). Prices for natural gas increased 1.7 percent. These increases were partially offset by a 2.6-percent decline in electricity prices.  

Over the year, energy prices rose 17.0 percent, largely due to a 40.3-percent climb in gasoline prices. Prices paid for natural gas advanced 9.8 percent, while prices for electricity declined 1.0 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy decreased 0.3 percent in July. Prices for new and used motor vehicles fell 6.4 percent, following five consecutive months of increases ranging from 1.2 to 7.3 percent. Apparel prices, typically down in July, declined 1.6 percent. These decreases were partially offset by higher prices for recreation (1.2 percent), medical care (0.6 percent), and education and communication (0.4 percent).

From July 2020 to July 2021, the index for all items less food and energy rose 2.7 percent. Components with over-the-year increases included shelter (1.8 percent), new and used motor vehicles (12.8 percent), and household furnishings and operations (6.6 percent). Within new and used motor vehicles, used car and truck prices jumped 41.9 percent, while new vehicle prices rose 3.4 percent.

Table A. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2017		2018		2019		2020		2021
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.6	2.5	0.4	1.4	0.5	1.6	0.8	2.5	0.4	1.2
February	0.3	2.6	0.5	1.7	0.2	1.3	0.2	2.4	0.3	1.4
March	0.0	2.3	0.0	1.7	0.3	1.6	-0.2	2.0	0.4	2.0
April	0.1	2.0	0.3	1.9	0.3	1.6	-0.5	1.1	0.7	3.2
May	0.1	1.8	0.4	2.2	0.2	1.5	0.5	1.4	0.5	3.2
June	0.2	1.8	0.1	2.0	0.3	1.7	0.1	1.3	1.0	4.1
July	-0.2	1.6	0.0	2.2	0.0	1.7	0.5	1.7	-0.1	3.5
August	0.2	1.7	0.1	2.2	0.2	1.8	-0.1	1.4
September	0.5	2.1	0.4	2.0	0.0	1.4	0.4	1.9
October	-0.2	1.8	-0.1	2.0	0.0	1.5	-0.2	1.7
November	-0.1	1.6	-0.2	1.9	0.1	1.8	-0.3	1.4
December	0.1	1.6	-0.2	1.6	0.1	2.2	0.4	1.6

The August 2021 Consumer Price Index for the New York-Newark-Jersey City area is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, September 14, 2021, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measures 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 U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. 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 6,000 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; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000.  Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods available on the internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/.

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, NY-NJ-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.

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