Consumer Price Index, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington – December 2020

News Release Information

21-64-PHI
Wednesday, January 13, 2021

Area prices unchanged since October; up 1.1 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington was unchanged from October to December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Frank Waligorski noted that rises in both the energy index (3.7 percent) and the food index (0.9 percent) were offset by a decline in the all items less food and energy index, down 0.4 percent. (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 CPI-U rose 1.1 percent. (See chart 1and table A.) The over-the-year rise was due to increases in the all items less food and energy index (0.9 percent) and the food index (4.2 percent). The energy index declined since December 2019, down 3.3 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

The food index increased 0.9 percent over the last 2 months. Prices for food away from home increased 1.2 percent since October, and those for food at home rose 0.7 percent. Within the food at home component, prices were higher for items such as breakfast cereal and milk, while prices were lower for chicken and other uncooked poultry including turkey.

Over the year, the food index increased 4.2 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 5.4 percent, and those for food at home were up 3.2 percent.

Energy

The energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, increased 3.7 percent since October. The 2-month increase was due to a 5.2-percent rise in gasoline prices. Prices were also higher for electricity (1.2 percent), while those for utility (piped) gas service decreased 0.2 percent since October.

Over the year, the energy index decreased 3.3 percent, led by a decline in gasoline prices, down 2.8 percent. Prices were also lower for utility (piped) gas service and electricity, down 2.4 and 0.3 percent, respectively.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy declined 0.4 percent from October to December. Lower prices for new and used motor vehicles (-3.2 percent) and shelter (-0.5 percent), among others, were moderated by higher prices for household furnishings and operations (5.7 percent) and other goods and services (1.4 percent).

Since December 2019, the index for all items less food and energy rose 0.9 percent. Prices were higher for household furnishings and operations (9.5 percent) and shelter (1.4 percent), among others.

Month	2016		2017		2018		2019		2020
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	0.3	0.3	0.7	2.1	0.4	0.5	0.8	1.5	1.0	2.6
April	0.9	0.6	0.0	1.3	0.9	1.4	1.3	1.9	-1.3	-0.1
June	0.3	0.1	-0.3	0.7	0.2	1.9	0.5	2.1	0.6	0.1
August	-0.2	0.4	0.5	1.4	0.3	1.7	0.5	2.3	0.8	0.4
October	0.6	1.3	0.0	0.8	0.0	1.6	-0.4	1.9	0.0	0.8
December	-0.1	1.7	-0.1	0.8	-0.7	1.0	-0.3	2.4	0.0	1.1

The Consumer Price Index for February 2021 is scheduled to be released Wednesday, March 10, 2021 at 8:30 am (ET).

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on December 2020 Consumer Price Index Data

Data collection by personal visit for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) program has been suspended 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.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index for Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington is published bi-monthly. 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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, Core Based Statistical Area includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania; Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, and Salem Counties in New Jersey; New Castle County in Delaware; and Cecil County in Maryland.

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

Expenditure category	Indexes				Percent change from
	Historical data	Oct. 2020	Nov. 2020	Dec. 2020	Dec. 2019	Oct. 2020	Nov. 2020
All items		259.979		259.991	1.1	0.0
All items (1967 = 100)		751.064		751.098
Food and beverages		247.051		249.181	4.2	0.9
Food		247.742		250.028	4.2	0.9
Food at home		246.780	248.246	248.563	3.2	0.7	0.1
Cereals and bakery products		321.042		323.827	5.8	0.9
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		272.367		269.272	1.0	-1.1
Dairy and related products		202.787		207.173	-0.3	2.2
Fruits and vegetables		282.903		287.786	6.6	1.7
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials		163.669		163.582	2.0	-0.1
Other food at home		222.392		225.244	3.0	1.3
Food away from home		242.828		245.658	5.4	1.2
Alcoholic beverages		234.544		234.240	3.6	-0.1
Housing		271.197		272.542	2.0	0.5
Shelter		340.424	340.651	338.785	1.4	-0.5	-0.5
Rent of primary residence		319.729	320.052	319.459	1.7	-0.1	-0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of residences		353.507	353.558	351.032	1.6	-0.7	-0.7
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence		353.507	353.558	351.032	1.6	-0.7	-0.7
Fuels and utilities		202.342		206.317	-1.8	2.0
Household energy		161.337	162.040	165.433	-3.5	2.5	2.1
Energy services		177.499	177.567	178.909	-1.0	0.8	0.8
Electricity		176.864	176.285	179.036	-0.3	1.2	1.6
Utility (piped) gas service		167.062	168.508	166.746	-2.4	-0.2	-1.0
Household furnishings and operations		118.459		125.264	9.5	5.7
Apparel		103.780		104.857	4.9	1.0
Transportation		206.646		203.212	-3.8	-1.7
Private transportation		208.411		206.816	-1.8	-0.8
New and used motor vehicles		103.127		99.813	1.5	-3.2
New vehicles		178.113		178.269	0.2	0.1
Used cars and trucks		286.146		279.545	10.1	-2.3
Motor fuel		220.157	217.678	231.620	-3.1	5.2	6.4
Gasoline (all types)		217.615	215.124	228.858	-2.8	5.2	6.4
Gasoline, unleaded regular		214.274	211.654	225.129	-3.1	5.1	6.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade		227.030	226.593	242.613	-0.3	6.9	7.1
Gasoline, unleaded premium		223.450	221.847	236.041	-1.1	5.6	6.4
Motor vehicle insurance		633.992		649.834	-10.8	2.5
Medical care		560.624		554.900	0.8	-1.0
Recreation		125.998		124.668	-1.3	-1.1
Education and communication		133.607		133.260	-0.3	-0.3
Tuition, other school fees, and child care		1,053.842		1,055.263	0.3	0.1
Other goods and services		568.161		575.979	3.6	1.4
Commodity and service group
Commodities		182.653		185.216	3.1	1.4
Commodities less food and beverages		147.995		150.628	2.4	1.8
Nondurables less food and beverages		184.866		186.539	-1.3	0.9
Durables		105.874		108.868	7.0	2.8
Services		337.943		335.334	0.0	-0.8
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter		233.420		233.994	1.0	0.2
All items less medical care		247.268		247.522	1.1	0.1
Commodities less food		151.097		153.674	2.4	1.7
Nondurables		216.890		218.800	1.7	0.9
Nondurables less food		187.796		189.362	-1.0	0.8
Services less rent of shelter		342.826		339.162	-1.4	-1.1
Services less medical care services		321.174		318.666	-0.2	-0.8
Energy		182.517	182.064	189.281	-3.3	3.7	4.0
All items less energy		270.255		269.652	1.4	-0.2
All items less food and energy		276.696		275.535	0.9	-0.4