The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Chicago-Gary-Kenosha area was unchanged in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that energy prices fell 1.4 percent while food prices were 0.6 percent higher in September. The all items less food and energy category increased 0.1 percent over the month. Among the indexes within the all items less food and energy category, prices were higher for shelter and education and communication. The indexes for recreation, household furnishings and operations, and car and truck rental were lower in September. (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 Chicago area all items CPI-U increased 2.1 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index rose 6.9 percent since last September primarily due to increases in costs for electricity and utility (piped) gas service. The all items less food and energy index was 1.2 percent higher over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.6 percent in September following a 0.4 percent increase in August. Of the two components within the food index, prices for food at home (groceries) rose 0.3 percent and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) were up 1.0 percent over the month. Within the food at home group, categories experiencing increases included milk and other dairy products (includes yogurt and condensed milk, for example).  Prices were lower for uncooked beef steaks and bread.

From September 2013 to September 2014, the food index increased 4.5 percent. Grocery food prices rose 4.5 percent over the year while prices for food eaten away from home increased 4.4 percent compared to last September.

Energy

The energy index was down 1.4 percent in September due to a 10.0 percent decline in the index for utility (piped) gas service. In contrast, electricity costs rose 1.1 percent and prices for gasoline rose 1.2 percent over the month.

Overall energy prices were up 6.9 percent from September 2013 to September 2014. Over the year, the indexes for electricity and utility (piped) gas service rose 30.5 percent and 10.9 percent, respectively, while gasoline prices fell 2.7 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.1 percent in September. Among the index’s components, prices were 0.4 percent higher for shelter and 0.9 percent higher for education and communication. In contrast, the indexes for recreation (-0.9 percent), household furnishings and operations (-0.2 percent), and car and truck rental were lower over the month.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.2 percent. A 2.4 percent annual increase in shelter costs was the major contributing factor. The index for education and communication rose 3.0 percent from last September and also contributed.

Table A. Percent Changes in the CPI-U, Chicago-Gary-Kenosha (not seasonally adjusted)

Expenditure Category	Percent changes from preceding month							12 mo. ended Sep. '14
	2014
	Mar.	Apr.	May	Jun.	Jul.	Aug.	Sep.
All items	1.1	0.5	-0.1	0.4	-0.4	0.1	0.0	2.1
Food & beverages	0.3	0.2	0.5	-0.1	-0.1	0.5	0.6	4.3
Food	0.3	0.3	0.7	-0.1	0.0	0.4	0.6	4.5
Housing	1.4	0.7	-0.5	0.7	0.4	-0.1	-0.2	3.7
Apparel	1.7	-1.4	0.2	-2.6	-3.7	4.3	0.2	-5.1
Transportation	3.1	1.4	-0.2	1.2	-2.9	-1.5	-0.3	-1.3
Medical care	0.2	0.1	0.0	-0.2	0.6	0.3	0.1	2.2
Recreation	-0.2	-0.7	1.0	0.2	0.2	0.0	-0.9	-1.3
Education & communication	0.0	0.4	0.1	0.2	-0.1	0.5	0.9	3.0
Other goods & services	0.3	-0.2	-0.3	0.4	0.1	0.0	0.3	1.0
Special Indexes
Energy	11.7	4.2	-4.0	3.8(R)	-3.2	-3.0	-1.4	6.9
All items less food & energy	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.1	-0.2	0.4	0.1	1.2
Footnotes: (R) Revised.

The October 2014 Consumer Price Index for Chicago is scheduled to be released on Thursday, November 20, 2014, at 7:30 a.m. (CT).

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 88 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 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 87 urban areas across the country from about 4,000 housing units and approximately 26,000 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/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 Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. consolidated area covered in this release is comprised of Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties in Illinois; Lake and Porter Counties in Indiana; and Kenosha County in Wisconsin.

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

Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Jul. 2014	Aug. 2014	Sep. 2014	Sep. 2013	Jul. 2014	Aug. 2014
Expenditure category
All items	229.633	229.753	229.829	2.1	0.1	0.0
All items (1967=100)	686.047	686.408	686.633	-	-	-
Food and beverages	236.348	237.423	238.733	4.3	1.0	0.6
Food	235.736	236.640	238.065	4.5	1.0	0.6
Food at home	234.849	236.376	237.160	4.5	1.0	0.3
Food away from home	231.642	231.642	233.945	4.4	1.0	1.0
Alcoholic beverages	243.723	247.330	246.914	2.0	1.3	-0.2
Housing	231.734	231.602	231.219	3.7	-0.2	-0.2
Shelter	281.554	282.484	283.560	2.4	0.7	0.4
Rent of primary residence (1)	294.758	296.159	298.885	2.9	1.4	0.9
Owners' equiv. rent of residences (1) (2)	285.784	286.603	288.145	1.8	0.8	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence (1) (2)	285.784	286.603	288.145	1.8	0.8	0.5
Fuels and utilities	221.793	217.919	210.419	17.5	-5.1	-3.4
Household energy	192.326	188.215	180.259	20.5	-6.3	-4.2
Energy services (1)	196.218	191.953	183.774	20.8	-6.3	-4.3
Electricity (1)	162.736	164.449	166.303	30.5	2.2	1.1
Utility (piped) gas service (1)	224.066	211.934	190.650	10.9	-14.9	-10.0
Household furnishings and operations	98.144	97.203	97.006	-2.4	-1.2	-0.2
Apparel	91.556	95.480	95.678	-5.1	4.5	0.2
Transportation	203.189	200.133	199.520	-1.3	-1.8	-0.3
Private transportation	200.217	197.286	197.417	-0.9	-1.4	0.1
Motor fuel	331.359	318.996	322.832	-2.5	-2.6	1.2
Gasoline (all types)	327.852	315.586	319.414	-2.7	-2.6	1.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular (3)	321.346	309.435	312.987	-2.8	-2.6	1.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (3) (4)	346.506	332.780	337.551	-1.8	-2.6	1.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium (3)	320.862	308.619	313.442	-1.9	-2.3	1.6
Medical care	450.545	451.769	452.421	2.2	0.4	0.1
Recreation (5)	109.969	110.018	109.036	-1.3	-0.8	-0.9
Education and communication (5)	141.401	142.154	143.498	3.0	1.5	0.9
Other goods and services	384.356	384.271	385.599	1.0	0.3	0.3
Commodity and service group
All items	229.633	229.753	229.829	2.1	0.1	0.0
Commodities	174.316	174.380	174.966	0.5	0.4	0.3
Commodities less food & beverages	141.636	141.257	141.510	-2.0	-0.1	0.2
Nondurables less food & beverages	192.269	191.869	193.042	-1.8	0.4	0.6
Durables	93.230	92.873	92.257	-2.9	-1.0	-0.7
Services	282.051	282.225	281.818	3.1	-0.1	-0.1
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	220.195	220.267	220.317	2.1	0.1	0.0
All items less shelter	212.372	212.208	211.929	1.9	-0.2	-0.1
Commodities less food	145.587	145.313	145.549	-1.9	0.0	0.2
Nondurables	215.885	216.186	217.440	1.2	0.7	0.6
Nondurables less food	196.186	196.000	197.094	-1.7	0.5	0.6
Services less rent of shelter (2)	297.348	296.722	294.713	3.7	-0.9	-0.7
Services less medical care services	269.227	269.303	268.951	3.3	-0.1	-0.1
Energy	245.995	238.682	235.329	6.9	-4.3	-1.4
All items less energy	229.879	230.710	231.113	1.7	0.5	0.2
All items less food and energy	229.635	230.456	230.671	1.2	0.5	0.1
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.
- Data not available NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.