Prices in the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), edged up 0.2 percent in August after inching down 0.1 percent in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli attributed the rise to higher prices for apparel and shelter that were largely offset by lower 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 was up 1.1 percent. (See table A.)The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.0 percent. (See chart 1.)Higher prices for shelter drove the 12-month change in both indexes. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index remained unchanged in August, following a 0.1-percent decrease in July. Prices for food at home declined 0.1 percent. Breakfast cereal was one of the items with price decreases. Prices for food away from home inched up 0.1 percent.

Over the year, the food index rose 0.2 percent, as a 3.5-percent increase for away-from-home food prices was moderated by a 2.2-percent decline in at-home food prices.

Energy

The energy index fell 2.6 percent over the month, reflecting a 4.5-percent decrease in gasoline prices. Also down were prices for natural gas (-2.0 percent), electricity (-0.8 percent), and fuel oil.

From August 2015 to August 2016, energy prices fell 8.5 percent. Gasoline prices dropped 16.8 percent and household energy prices declined 2.6 percent. Within the household energy category, electricity prices fell 1.6 percent, but natural gas prices edged up 0.2 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.4 percent in August. A seasonal increase in apparel prices (6.8 percent) was the highest since September 2009. Higher prices for shelter, up 0.3 percent, also contributed to the rise. Within the shelter category, prices rose 0.2 percent for residential rent and 0.3 percent for owners’ equivalent rent. Other categories with higher prices included recreation (0.5 percent) and medical care (0.1 percent).

For the year ended in August 2016, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.0 percent. Shelter prices rose 3.1 percent, reflecting a 3.4-percent increase in residential rent and a 2.8-percent rise in owners’ equivalent rent. Medical care prices advanced 5.8 percent.

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

Month	2011		2012		2013		2014		2015		2016
	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	0.3	1.5	0.4	2.8	0.5	2.2	0.9	1.9	0.1	-0.5	0.2	0.8
February	0.5	2.1	0.4	2.6	0.6	2.4	-0.2	1.1	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.6
March	0.7	2.3	0.6	2.6	0.1	1.9	0.4	1.3	0.2	-0.1	0.2	0.7
April	0.4	2.5	0.2	2.4	-0.2	1.4	0.0	1.6	0.1	0.0	0.4	1.0
May	0.6	2.9	0.1	1.8	0.1	1.4	0.5	1.9	0.4	-0.1	0.3	0.9
June	0.2	3.2	-0.1	1.6	0.3	1.8	0.0	1.7	0.2	0.1	0.3	1.0
July	0.3	3.3	-0.2	1.1	0.2	2.1	0.1	1.6	-0.1	-0.1	-0.1	1.0
August	0.4	3.5	0.6	1.4	0.1	1.7	-0.2	1.3	0.1	0.1	0.2	1.1
September	0.2	3.8	0.4	1.6	0.3	1.6	0.0	1.0	0.2	0.3
October	-0.2	3.3	-0.1	1.7	-0.6	1.1	-0.2	1.3	-0.1	0.4
November	-0.3	3.0	0.0	2.0	0.1	1.2	-0.4	0.8	-0.2	0.6
December	-0.4	2.7	-0.3	2.1	0.0	1.5	-0.5	0.3	-0.4	0.7

CPI-W

In August, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 258.520, up 0.1 percent over the month. The CPI-W rose 1.0 percent over the year.

The September 2016 Consumer Price Index for New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island is scheduled to be released Tuesday, October 18, 2016, 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 89 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 28 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 6,000 housing units and approximately 24,000 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-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; 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-Northern N.J.-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)(not seasonally adjusted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	June 2016	July 2016	Aug. 2016	Aug. 2015	June 2016	July 2016
Expenditure category
All items	264.022	263.868	264.306	1.1	0.1	0.2
All items (1967=100)	763.251	762.804	764.072
Food and beverages	256.971	256.924	256.834	0.2	-0.1	0.0
Food	256.950	256.755	256.690	0.2	-0.1	0.0
Food at home	250.577	249.377	249.074	-2.2	-0.6	-0.1
Food away from home	272.814	274.078	274.357	3.5	0.6	0.1
Alcoholic beverages	252.875	254.813	254.393	0.4	0.6	-0.2
Housing	285.090	285.748	286.282	2.2	0.4	0.2
Shelter	359.395	360.664	361.869	3.1	0.7	0.3
Rent of primary residence (1)	370.763	371.871	372.487	3.4	0.5	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of residences (1) (2)	365.735	366.273	367.357	2.8	0.4	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence (1) (2)	365.279	365.812	366.890	2.8	0.4	0.3
Fuels and utilities	183.803	184.064	181.737	-1.9	-1.1	-1.3
Household energy	175.657	175.938	173.333	-2.6	-1.3	-1.5
Energy services (1)	171.899	172.243	170.208	-1.1	-1.0	-1.2
Electricity (1)	185.830	185.910	184.396	-1.6	-0.8	-0.8
Utility (piped) gas service (1)	138.137	138.919	136.090	0.2	-1.5	-2.0
Household furnishings and operations	111.832	110.614	110.920	-2.1	-0.8	0.3
Apparel	122.904	121.576	129.847	-1.3	5.6	6.8
Transportation	213.339	210.150	207.419	-3.9	-2.8	-1.3
Private transportation	196.811	195.538	193.230	-4.3	-1.8	-1.2
Motor fuel	185.700	179.746	171.749	-16.8	-7.5	-4.4
Gasoline (all types)	184.987	179.021	171.030	-16.8	-7.5	-4.5
Gasoline, unleaded regular (3)	183.416	177.012	168.733	-17.4	-8.0	-4.7
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (3) (4)	195.673	191.900	185.349	-14.3	-5.3	-3.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium (3)	197.842	194.696	188.480	-13.2	-4.7	-3.2
Medical care	466.843	472.391	473.045	5.8	1.3	0.1
Recreation (5)	119.915	118.985	119.552	0.8	-0.3	0.5
Education and communication (5)	142.978	143.003	143.028	1.2	0.0	0.0
Other goods and services	414.894	416.559	414.670	2.6	-0.1	-0.5
Commodity and service group
All items	264.022	263.868	264.306	1.1	0.1	0.2
Commodities	185.732	184.711	185.367	-2.1	-0.2	0.4
Commodities less food and beverages	142.144	140.731	141.695	-4.0	-0.3	0.7
Nondurables less food and beverages	177.189	174.843	176.815	-4.7	-0.2	1.1
Durables	96.803	96.416	96.315	-2.6	-0.5	-0.1
Services	330.333	330.834	331.118	2.6	0.2	0.1
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	255.206	254.815	255.244	0.8	0.0	0.2
All items less shelter	226.286	225.552	225.680	-0.1	-0.3	0.1
Commodities less food	146.341	145.025	145.951	-3.8	-0.3	0.6
Nondurables	218.540	217.259	218.273	-1.9	-0.1	0.5
Nondurables less food	181.799	179.701	181.535	-4.3	-0.1	1.0
Services less rent of shelter (2)	309.468	309.160	308.449	2.0	-0.3	-0.2
Services less medical care services	319.635	319.755	320.002	2.3	0.1	0.1
Energy	181.925	179.845	175.157	-8.5	-3.7	-2.6
All items less energy	273.819	273.843	274.765	1.8	0.3	0.3
All items less food and energy	278.609	278.670	279.766	2.0	0.4	0.4
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) Index is on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. The New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA consolidated area comprises the five boroughs of New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, and Orange Counties in New York State; Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Monmouth, Middlesex, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren Counties in New Jersey; Fairfield County and parts of Litchfield, New Haven, and Middlesex Counties in Connecticut; and Pike County in Pennsylvania.