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Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Prices in the Midwest Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.5 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The April increase was led by a 0.5-percent rise in the all items less food and energy index, with higher prices for shelter contributing most to the rise. The energy index was up 1.7 percent, while the food index rose 0.1 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)
Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 2.8 percent. (See chart 1.) The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.1 percent, and food prices advanced 2.0 percent over the year. The index for energy saw no change for the 12-months ending in April 2024. (See table 1.)
FoodThe food index increased 0.1 percent for the month of April. Prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) rose 0.4 percent, while prices for food at home (grocery store prices) fell by 0.1 percent for the same period.
Over the year, the food index advanced 2.0 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 3.9 percent, and prices for food at home increased 0.9 percent for the same period.
EnergyThe energy index rose 1.7 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (+4.0 percent). The index for electricity was up by 0.2 percent over the month. Partially offsetting the increase was a decline in prices for natural gas service, falling 3.0 percent for the month of April.
From April 2023 to April 2024, the energy index was unchanged. The index for electricity increased 3.3 percent over the year; this rise was entirely offset by falling prices for natural gas service (-4.7 percent) and gasoline (-1.6 percent).
All items less food and energyThe index for all items less food and energy increased 0.5 percent in April. Higher prices for lodging away from home, owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+0.4 percent), and medical care services (+1.2 percent) drove most of the increase.
Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 3.1 percent. Components contributing most to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+6.4 percent), rent of primary residence (+6.2 percent), and other goods and services (+7.1 percent). Declining indexes included household furnishings and operations (-3.3 percent) and used cars and trucks (-6.4 percent).
Month | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1-month | 12-month | 1-month | 12-month | 1-month | 12-month | 1-month | 12-month | 1-month | 12-month | |
January | 0.4 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 7.9 | 0.8 | 6.0 | 0.3 | 2.7 |
February | 0.3 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 8.0 | 0.5 | 5.6 | 0.6 | 2.8 |
March | -0.5 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 3.0 | 1.3 | 8.6 | 0.6 | 4.9 | 0.7 | 2.8 |
April | -1.1 | -0.4 | 0.8 | 4.9 | 0.5 | 8.2 | 0.6 | 4.9 | 0.5 | 2.8 |
May | 0.3 | -0.4 | 1.0 | 5.6 | 1.5 | 8.8 | 0.3 | 3.7 | ||
June | 0.8 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 5.8 | 1.6 | 9.5 | 0.4 | 2.4 | ||
July | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 5.9 | -0.2 | 8.6 | 0.3 | 2.9 | ||
August | 0.4 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 5.7 | -0.2 | 8.1 | 0.2 | 3.4 | ||
September | 0.2 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 5.7 | 0.2 | 8.1 | 0.1 | 3.2 | ||
October | -0.1 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 6.6 | 0.1 | 7.4 | -0.1 | 2.9 | ||
November | -0.2 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 7.3 | -0.2 | 6.8 | -0.2 | 2.9 | ||
December | 0.1 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 7.5 | -0.5 | 6.0 | -0.2 | 3.2 |
The May 2024 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest Region is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 12, 2024.
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 Midwest region is comprised of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.
Expenditure category | Indexes | Percent change from | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Feb. 2024 | Mar. 2024 | Apr. 2024 | Apr. 2023 | Feb. 2024 | Mar. 2024 | |
All items | 286.346 | 288.301 | 289.718 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 0.5 |
All items (December 1977 = 100) | 465.901 | 469.082 | 471.388 | |||
Food and beverages | 314.206 | 314.138 | 314.381 | 2.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
Food | 315.489 | 315.473 | 315.711 | 2.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
Food at home | 289.635 | 289.478 | 289.107 | 0.9 | -0.2 | -0.1 |
Cereals and bakery products | 336.519 | 334.874 | 336.074 | 1.0 | -0.1 | 0.4 |
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs | 311.498 | 313.723 | 312.414 | -0.1 | 0.3 | -0.4 |
Dairy and related products | 246.450 | 246.124 | 244.727 | -1.0 | -0.7 | -0.6 |
Fruits and vegetables | 321.875 | 318.608 | 317.758 | -0.1 | -1.3 | -0.3 |
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials | 217.489 | 215.773 | 215.677 | 3.2 | -0.8 | 0.0 |
Other food at home | 257.676 | 259.087 | 259.185 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.0 |
Food away from home | 357.532 | 357.805 | 359.267 | 3.9 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
Alcoholic beverages | 296.075 | 295.291 | 295.604 | 2.8 | -0.2 | 0.1 |
Housing | 285.516 | 286.573 | 287.967 | 4.4 | 0.9 | 0.5 |
Shelter | 343.183 | 345.444 | 347.648 | 6.2 | 1.3 | 0.6 |
Rent of primary residence(1) | 347.091 | 349.587 | 350.438 | 6.2 | 1.0 | 0.2 |
351.796 | 353.862 | 355.208 | 6.4 | 1.0 | 0.4 | |
351.693 | 353.753 | 355.091 | 6.4 | 1.0 | 0.4 | |
Fuels and utilities | 273.774 | 270.701 | 269.753 | 2.0 | -1.5 | -0.4 |
Household energy | 221.898 | 218.431 | 216.679 | 0.8 | -2.4 | -0.8 |
Energy services(1) | 229.193 | 225.693 | 223.903 | 0.9 | -2.3 | -0.8 |
Electricity(1) | 237.634 | 237.990 | 238.370 | 3.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
Utility (piped) gas service(1) | 195.591 | 185.336 | 179.731 | -4.7 | -8.1 | -3.0 |
Household furnishings and operations | 138.309 | 138.020 | 138.318 | -3.3 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
Apparel | 122.790 | 122.959 | 123.116 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
Transportation | 256.628 | 263.908 | 266.041 | 1.0 | 3.7 | 0.8 |
Private transportation | 255.467 | 263.078 | 264.897 | 1.6 | 3.7 | 0.7 |
New and used motor vehicles(3) | 124.653 | 125.875 | 125.558 | -2.8 | 0.7 | -0.3 |
New vehicles | 173.019 | 172.703 | 172.853 | 0.5 | -0.1 | 0.1 |
New cars(4) | 167.707 | 167.017 | 167.114 | -0.9 | -0.4 | 0.1 |
Used cars and trucks | 180.353 | 181.796 | 181.217 | -6.4 | 0.5 | -0.3 |
Motor fuel | 281.879 | 306.188 | 318.113 | -1.9 | 12.9 | 3.9 |
Gasoline (all types) | 280.811 | 305.786 | 317.962 | -1.6 | 13.2 | 4.0 |
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4) | 272.809 | 297.657 | 309.707 | -1.7 | 13.5 | 4.0 |
332.368 | 358.554 | 371.949 | -0.6 | 11.9 | 3.7 | |
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4) | 317.262 | 339.632 | 351.183 | -0.1 | 10.7 | 3.4 |
Medical care | 545.456 | 548.135 | 554.309 | 2.1 | 1.6 | 1.1 |
Medical care commodities | 390.993 | 391.123 | 394.544 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
Medical care services | 596.566 | 600.115 | 607.215 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.2 |
Professional services | 464.292 | 465.078 | 465.922 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
Recreation(3) | 141.543 | 141.720 | 141.574 | 0.1 | 0.0 | -0.1 |
Education and communication(3) | 143.203 | 142.953 | 143.219 | -0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6) | 1,313.998 | 1,313.998 | 1,313.382 | 3.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Other goods and services | 539.349 | 543.592 | 548.712 | 7.1 | 1.7 | 0.9 |
Commodity and service group | ||||||
Commodities | 215.667 | 217.359 | 218.294 | -0.1 | 1.2 | 0.4 |
Commodities less food and beverages | 170.917 | 173.121 | 174.244 | -1.4 | 1.9 | 0.6 |
Nondurables less food and beverages | 220.672 | 226.603 | 229.684 | 0.8 | 4.1 | 1.4 |
Durables | 121.916 | 121.491 | 121.237 | -4.2 | -0.6 | -0.2 |
Services | 358.930 | 361.162 | 363.071 | 4.7 | 1.2 | 0.5 |
Special aggregate indexes | ||||||
All items less shelter | 268.447 | 270.311 | 271.447 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.4 |
All items less medical care | 274.190 | 276.115 | 277.296 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 0.4 |
Commodities less food | 174.701 | 176.849 | 177.960 | -1.3 | 1.9 | 0.6 |
Nondurables | 266.182 | 269.461 | 271.290 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 0.7 |
Nondurables less food | 224.660 | 230.241 | 233.177 | 1.0 | 3.8 | 1.3 |
Services less rent of shelter(2) | 384.946 | 387.185 | 388.728 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 0.4 |
Services less medical care services | 341.331 | 343.466 | 344.976 | 5.0 | 1.1 | 0.4 |
Energy | 249.882 | 258.778 | 263.114 | 0.0 | 5.3 | 1.7 |
All items less energy | 293.437 | 294.809 | 295.989 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 0.4 |
All items less food and energy | 290.546 | 292.138 | 293.469 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 0.5 |
(1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. | ||||||
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. |
Last Modified Date: Wednesday, May 15, 2024