Consumer Price Index, Northeast Region – December 2021

News Release Information

22-71-PHI
Wednesday, January 12, 2022

Area prices were up 0.2 percent over the past month, up 5.9 percent from a year ago

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Northeast rose 0.2 percent in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that this was below the identical 0.6 percent increases in October and November. Three-quarters of the December increase was due to the all items less food and energy index, also up 0.2 percent. The food index also increased over the month while the energy index declined. (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 Northeast all items CPI-U increased 5.9 percent, about the same as in November (6.0 percent) which was the highest such rise in over 30 years. (See chart 1 and table A.) The all items less food and energy index was mostly responsible for the over-the-year increase, up 4.3 percent - the highest 12-month change since June 1992. The energy index moderated somewhat as the 28.0 percent over-the-year increase was down from a record 32.5 percent jump in November. The food index advanced 5.5 percent over-the-year, slightly below the 5.8 percent rate in November. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.5 percent for the month of December. Both main components of the overall food index moderated over the month; prices for food at home increased 0.5 percent and prices for food away from home advanced 0.4 percent. Within food at home, the overall increase was led by increasing prices for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials, up 1.8 percent; fruits and vegetables rose 1.0 percent and the other food at home category, up 0.8 percent. Lower prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs were largely due to declines for uncooked beef roasts (-3.4 percent) and ham (-5.7 percent); the 0.6 percent decline in meats, poultry, fish, and eggs was the first monthly drop since February.

From December 2020 to December 2021, the food index increased 5.5 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 4.9 percent since a year ago and prices for food away from home increased 6.3 percent, each less than the 12-month changes reported for November. The food at home increase was led by an 8.9 percent rise in the meats, poultry, fish, and eggs index which also moderated after posting a 10.5 percent increase in November.

Energy

The energy index inched down 0.2 percent over the month. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-0.8 percent). Prices for electricity decreased 0.3 percent and fuel oil dropped 2.7 percent for the same period, while prices for utility (piped) gas service advanced 2.6 percent.

Energy prices were up 28.0 percent over the year led by higher prices for gasoline (50.3 percent). Although all of the energy components were up over the year, the rate of increase moderated for all but utility (piped) gas service (up 21.0 percent over the year compared with 19.6 percent the previous month). Prices paid for fuel oil were up 40.1 percent and the electricity index advanced 4.9 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.2 percent in December. Higher prices for shelter (0.3 percent), specifically owners' equivalent rent of residences (0.4 percent), drove the increase. Prices for new and used motor vehicles (1.5 percent) rose at a somewhat slower pace than the previous two monthly increases; the rise was largely due to higher prices for used cars and trucks, up 3.5 percent, still well below the recent April through June peak when it ranged from 6.5 to 11.0 percent each month. The index for household furnishings and operations (0.8 percent) also contributed to the overall increase for the all items less food and energy index. Some categories did decline over the month; apparel (-1.4 percent) declined as it has every December since the index began in 1987 though over the last 10 years, that drop averaged about 3.6 percent. Recreation prices also declined, down 0.5 percent.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 4.3 percent. The annual increase in the index for new and used motor vehicles (21.7 percent) was the highest since that series began in 1998 and was led by increases in used cars and trucks (38.6 percent - the largest since July's 42.4 percent increase) and new vehicles (11.9 percent). Higher prices for shelter (2.6 percent) and household furnishings and operations (7.2 percent) were also major contributing factors.

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	0.5	1.6	0.3	1.5	0.7	2.3	0.4	1.1
February	0.3	2.6	0.4	1.7	0.2	1.3	0.3	2.4	0.4	1.2
March	-0.1	2.2	0.1	2.0	0.5	1.7	-0.2	1.7	0.6	2.1
April	0.3	1.9	0.4	2.1	0.4	1.7	-0.4	0.8	0.7	3.3
May	0.1	1.7	0.4	2.5	0.3	1.5	0.0	0.6	0.6	3.9
June	0.0	1.5	0.0	2.6	0.1	1.6	0.3	0.8	1.0	4.6
July	-0.2	1.3	0.0	2.7	0.1	1.7	0.4	1.1	0.2	4.3
August	0.3	1.6	0.2	2.7	0.1	1.5	0.1	1.1	0.1	4.4
September	0.5	1.9	0.1	2.2	0.0	1.4	0.1	1.2	0.3	4.6
October	-0.1	1.5	-0.1	2.3	-0.1	1.5	-0.2	1.1	0.6	5.4
November	0.0	1.6	-0.4	1.9	0.1	1.9	0.1	1.1	0.6	6.0
December	0.1	1.7	-0.1	1.7	-0.1	1.9	0.2	1.4	0.2	5.9

Geographic divisions

Additional price indexes are now available for the two divisions of the Northeast. Over the month, the all items CPI-U was 0.4 percent higher in the New England division, while prices in the Middle Atlantic division rose 0.1 percent.

Over the year, prices rose in the New England division (6.2 percent). The all items index also rose in the Middle Atlantic division, up 5.8 percent. (See table B.)

Area	1-month change	12-month change
Northeast	0.2	5.9
New England Division	0.4	6.2
Middle Atlantic Division	0.1	5.8

The Consumer Price Index for January 2022 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, February 10, 2022, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on December 2021 Consumer Price Index Data

Data collection by personal visit for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) program has been suspended almost entirely since March 16, 2020. When possible, data normally collected by personal visit were collected either online or by phone. Additionally, data collection in December was affected by the temporary closing or limited operations of certain types of establishments. These factors resulted in an increase in the number of prices considered temporarily unavailable and imputed. While the CPI program attempted to collect as much data as possible, many indexes are based on smaller amounts of collected prices than usual, and a small number of indexes that are normally published were not published this month. Additional information is available at www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-consumer-price-index.htm.

For each month from March 2020 to December 2021, BLS has published a summary of the impact of the pandemic on the Consumer Price Index news release and data. The impact summary for December is available at https://www.bls.gov/covid19/consumer-price-index-covid19-impacts-december-2021.htm. Beginning with publication of January 2022 data in February 2022, this month-specific impact summary will be discontinued. However, information related to the impact of the pandemic will continue to be available at https://www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-consumer-price-index.htm.

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 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 Northeast region is comprised of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The New Englanddivision is comprised of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The Middle Atlanticdivision is comprised of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: [phone]; Federal Relay Service: [phone].

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from
	Historical data	Oct. 2021	Nov. 2021	Dec. 2021	Dec. 2020	Oct. 2021	Nov. 2021
All items		288.236	289.835	290.405	5.9	0.8	0.2
All items (December 1977 = 100)		453.884	456.401	457.299
Food and beverages		287.264	289.111	290.371	5.2	1.1	0.4
Food		288.670	290.628	292.019	5.5	1.2	0.5
Food at home		270.004	271.905	273.384	4.9	1.3	0.5
Cereals and bakery products		318.587	320.295	321.479	4.6	0.9	0.4
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		288.273	292.763	291.134	8.9	1.0	-0.6
Dairy and related products		242.796	243.174	244.907	2.6	0.9	0.7
Fruits and vegetables		326.494	328.379	331.744	1.3	1.6	1.0
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		186.416	185.026	188.326	5.6	1.0	1.8
Other food at home		238.065	240.325	242.129	4.7	1.7	0.8
Food away from home		320.371	322.436	323.704	6.3	1.0	0.4
Alcoholic beverages		267.533	267.862	267.326	0.4	-0.1	-0.2
Housing		304.637	305.642	306.791	4.0	0.7	0.4
Shelter		374.986	375.838	377.105	2.6	0.6	0.3
Rent of primary residence		376.831	377.717	378.897	1.7	0.5	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of residences		388.619	389.840	391.384	2.4	0.7	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence		388.285	389.499	391.031	2.4	0.7	0.4
Fuels and utilities		252.666	254.892	255.417	11.7	1.1	0.2
Household energy		223.704	226.036	226.535	13.4	1.3	0.2
Energy services		219.600	221.169	222.742	10.0	1.4	0.7
Electricity		219.185	217.753	217.206	4.9	-0.9	-0.3
Utility (piped) gas service		203.917	211.101	216.609	21.0	6.2	2.6
Household furnishings and operations		131.833	132.557	133.658	7.2	1.4	0.8
Apparel		128.269	124.885	123.105	5.9	-4.0	-1.4
Transportation		233.253	238.185	238.557	19.5	2.3	0.2
Private transportation		232.151	236.811	237.991	22.6	2.5	0.5
New and used motor vehicles		116.325	118.611	120.426	21.7	3.5	1.5
New vehicles		159.984	163.240	163.153	11.9	2.0	-0.1
New cars and trucks		110.971	113.168	113.104	12.0	1.9	-0.1
New cars		149.375	154.044	153.901	13.4	3.0	-0.1
Used cars and trucks		205.923	211.265	218.646	38.6	6.2	3.5
Motor fuel		283.299	294.222	291.991	50.1	3.1	-0.8
Gasoline (all types)		282.237	293.146	290.904	50.3	3.1	-0.8
Gasoline, unleaded regular		279.880	290.834	288.444	51.8	3.1	-0.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade		297.383	308.390	307.342	43.8	3.3	-0.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium		286.894	297.120	295.791	40.4	3.1	-0.4
Motor vehicle insurance		619.073	617.093	609.767	2.6	-1.5	-1.2
Medical care		550.296	552.929	553.612	1.6	0.6	0.1
Medical care commodities		385.545	384.047	380.624	-0.2	-1.3	-0.9
Medical care services		598.512	602.428	604.400	2.0	1.0	0.3
Professional services		420.936	423.630	424.071	4.1	0.7	0.1
Recreation		132.516	133.629	132.909	3.0	0.3	-0.5
Education and communication		152.601	152.713	152.515	2.7	-0.1	-0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and child care		1,343.986	1,343.702	1,342.343	2.4	-0.1	-0.1
Other goods and services		536.030	533.916	536.641	3.6	0.1	0.5
Commodity and service group
Commodities		210.785	212.633	213.213	11.4	1.2	0.3
Commodities less food and beverages		169.286	171.042	171.317	16.1	1.2	0.2
Nondurables less food and beverages		212.853	213.972	212.555	15.7	-0.1	-0.7
Durables		118.513	120.481	121.870	16.7	2.8	1.2
Services		362.587	363.950	364.512	3.1	0.5	0.2
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		258.384	260.254	260.579	7.7	0.8	0.1
All items less medical care		276.703	278.257	278.823	6.3	0.8	0.2
Commodities less food		173.006	174.735	174.989	15.4	1.1	0.1
Nondurables		249.728	251.204	251.073	9.6	0.5	-0.1
Nondurables less food		216.030	217.102	215.738	14.4	-0.1	-0.6
Services less rent of shelter		361.520	363.435	363.255	3.5	0.5	0.0
Services less medical care services		346.333	347.519	347.985	3.2	0.5	0.1
Energy		247.925	253.737	253.130	28.0	2.1	-0.2
All items less energy		295.580	296.816	297.500	4.5	0.6	0.2
All items less food and energy		298.688	299.803	300.367	4.3	0.6	0.2