Food Costs Dip Slightly, But Prices In NJ Remain High Overall: New Statistics

NEW JERSEY — Prices for goods and services dipped slightly from February to March but New Jersey residents are still shelling out more across the board now than a year ago.

Customers in NJ paid 4.6 percent more for items like food, clothing, housing, and prescriptions in March 2023 than they did in 2022, according to newly-released statistics. This number will come as no surprise to people whose budgets are getting tighter and tighter, even if prices are a becoming a bit more palatable across the board.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks consumer prices both by major metropolitan area, and by region (New Jersey is in the Northeast region and smaller Middle Atlantic region for these reports).

Month to month, prices went down 0.3 percent in the Middle Atlantic division, which also consists of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Nationally, prices rose 0.1 percent from February to March and have increased 5 percent in the past 12 months, down from a 6 percent year-over-year increase in February. Related article — Cheaper Gas And Food Provide Some Relief From U.S. Inflation

Which prices remain high?

In New Jersey, the highest prices compared to last year are for cereals and bakery products (up 14 percent), dairy and related items (up 10.9 percent), and nonalcoholic beverages and related materials (up 12.4 percent).

Prices for food away from home (such as at restaurants) are still creeping up in New Jersey, and are 8.2 percent higher than in March 2023.

Prices for energy services, especially electricity, went down last month but it still costs 12.3 more percent on average to heat and cool your home than it did last March.

Buying a new car will cost 6.4 percent more this year than it did a year ago – used cars and trucks, however, saw a price decrease of 11.3 percent compared to last year.

The cost of housing and shelter also increased 6.4 percent compared to last year.

Which prices are coming down?

New Jersey shoppers are seeing a little bit of relief at the checkout counter, with prices for food at home down 0.1 percent according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The price of fruits and vegetables is cooling off, compared to last month (down 2.7 percent) and is 1.6 percent higher than this time last year – the lowest increase among food items.

After a sharp spike in egg prices, the BLS reports the price of meats, poultry, fish, and eggs went down in the region by 0.5 percent in March. But food and beverage prices are still up 8.1 percent from this time last year.

And, the prices of household furnishings and operations dropped 0.6 percent in the Middle Atlantic region last month, but are still 5.7 percent higher than in March 2022.

Gasoline prices are down by more than 19 percent compared with a year ago, averaging $3.45 in New Jersey on Tuesday.

What about in the NYC metro area?

The BLS also looks at big-city metropolitan areas as well as regional areas.

Prices in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area, which includes 12 NJ counties, were down 0.1 percent overall in March and had increased 4.6 percent since March of '22. The increase for fuels and utilities was not as sharp here – electricity prices in the metro area have decreased year-over-year, according to statistics.

The cost of housing and shelter in the NYC metro and surrounding NJ counties increased 5.8 percent compared to last year.

And residents in the metro areas paid 7.9 percent more for food and beverages last month than the year previously. The biggest price increase was for cereals and bakery products — 11.5 percent.

Prices for food away from home are slightly higher, increased 8.4 percent over last year.