The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Chicago-Gary-Kenosha area decreased 0.4 percent in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that energy prices fell 6.4 percent while food prices were 0.4 percent higher in October. The all items less food and energy index increased 0.2 percent over the month. Among the indexes within the all items less food and energy index, prices were higher for medical care and shelter. The index for apparel was lower in October. (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 2.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index rose 4.1 percent since last October primarily due to increases in the cost of electricity. The all items less food and energy index was 1.4 percent higher over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.4 percent in October following a 0.6 percent increase in September. Of the two components within the food index, prices for food at home (groceries) rose 0.6 percent and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) edged up 0.1 percent over the month. Within the food at home group, categories experiencing increases included lettuce; cakes, cupcakes, and cookies; and tomatoes. Prices were lower for apples and canned fruits and vegetables.

From October 2013 to October 2014, the food index increased 4.4 percent. Grocery food prices rose 4.4 percent over the year while prices for food eaten away from home increased 4.3 percent compared to last October.

Energy

The energy index was down 6.4 percent in October due to declines in the indexes for gasoline (-8.1 percent) and utility (piped) gas service (-12.2 percent). In contrast, electricity costs rose 1.8 percent.

Overall energy prices were up 4.1 percent from October 2013 to October 2014. Over the year, the indexes for electricity and utility (piped) gas service rose 33.1 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, while gasoline prices fell 5.3 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.2 percent in October. Among the index’s components, prices were 1.0 percent higher for medical care and 0.1 percent higher for shelter. In contrast, the index for apparel was 1.6 percent lower over the month.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.4 percent. Annual increases in the indexes for shelter (2.5 percent), medical care (3.0 percent), and education and communication (2.8 percent) were the major contributing factors.

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

Expenditure Category	Percent changes from preceding month							12 mo. ended Oct. '14
	2014
	Apr.	May	Jun.	Jul.	Aug.	Sep.	Oct.
All items	0.5	-0.1	0.4	-0.4	0.1	0.0	-0.4	2.0
Food & beverages	0.2	0.5	-0.1	-0.1	0.5	0.6	0.4	4.1
Food	0.3	0.7	-0.1	0.0	0.4	0.6	0.4	4.4
Housing	0.7	-0.5	0.7	0.4	-0.1	-0.2	-0.3	3.4
Apparel	-1.4	0.2	-2.6	-3.7	4.3	0.2	-1.6	-5.1
Transportation	1.4	-0.2	1.2	-2.9	-1.5	-0.3	-2.3	-1.9
Medical care	0.1	0.0	-0.2	0.6	0.3	0.1	1.0	3.0
Recreation	-0.7	1.0	0.2	0.2	0.0	-0.9	0.1	0.4
Education & communication	0.4	0.1	0.2	-0.1	0.5	0.9	0.1	2.8
Other goods & services	-0.2	-0.3	0.4	0.1	0.0	0.3	-0.2	0.9
Special Indexes
Energy	4.2	-4.0	3.8(R)	-3.2	-3.0	-1.4	-6.4	4.1
All items less food & energy	0.1	0.2	0.1	-0.2	0.4	0.1	0.2	1.4
Footnotes: (R) Revised.

The November 2014 Consumer Price Index for Chicago is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, December 17, 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-
	Aug. 2014	Sep. 2014	Oct. 2014	Oct. 2013	Aug. 2014	Sep. 2014
Expenditure category
All items	229.753	229.829	228.987	2.0	-0.3	-0.4
All items (1967=100)	686.408	686.633	684.116	-	-	-
Food and beverages	237.423	238.733	239.670	4.1	0.9	0.4
Food	236.640	238.065	239.050	4.4	1.0	0.4
Food at home	236.376	237.160	238.639	4.4	1.0	0.6
Food away from home	231.642	233.945	234.207	4.3	1.1	0.1
Alcoholic beverages	247.330	246.914	247.128	1.4	-0.1	0.1
Housing	231.602	231.219	230.478	3.4	-0.5	-0.3
Shelter	282.484	283.560	283.879	2.5	0.5	0.1
Rent of primary residence (1)	296.159	298.885	300.655	3.4	1.5	0.6
Owners' equiv. rent of residences (1) (2)	286.603	288.145	289.171	2.1	0.9	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence (1) (2)	286.603	288.145	289.171	2.1	0.9	0.4
Fuels and utilities	217.919	210.419	202.809	14.2	-6.9	-3.6
Household energy	188.215	180.259	172.186	16.8	-8.5	-4.5
Energy services (1)	191.953	183.774	175.433	17.2	-8.6	-4.5
Electricity (1)	164.449	166.303	169.367	33.1	3.0	1.8
Utility (piped) gas service (1)	211.934	190.650	167.320	0.3	-21.1	-12.2
Household furnishings and operations	97.203	97.006	97.500	-1.9	0.3	0.5
Apparel	95.480	95.678	94.121	-5.1	-1.4	-1.6
Transportation	200.133	199.520	195.023	-1.9	-2.6	-2.3
Private transportation	197.286	197.417	191.902	-1.8	-2.7	-2.8
Motor fuel	318.996	322.832	296.760	-5.2	-7.0	-8.1
Gasoline (all types)	315.586	319.414	293.546	-5.3	-7.0	-8.1
Gasoline, unleaded regular (3)	309.435	312.987	286.684	-5.7	-7.4	-8.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (3) (4)	332.780	337.551	313.959	-3.4	-5.7	-7.0
Gasoline, unleaded premium (3)	308.619	313.442	293.021	-2.8	-5.1	-6.5
Medical care	451.769	452.421	456.734	3.0	1.1	1.0
Recreation (5)	110.018	109.036	109.118	0.4	-0.8	0.1
Education and communication (5)	142.154	143.498	143.703	2.8	1.1	0.1
Other goods and services	384.271	385.599	384.759	0.9	0.1	-0.2
Commodity and service group
All items	229.753	229.829	228.987	2.0	-0.3	-0.4
Commodities	174.380	174.966	173.001	0.1	-0.8	-1.1
Commodities less food & beverages	141.257	141.510	138.343	-2.6	-2.1	-2.2
Nondurables less food & beverages	191.869	193.042	186.568	-2.7	-2.8	-3.4
Durables	92.873	92.257	92.219	-2.8	-0.7	0.0
Services	282.225	281.818	282.035	3.2	-0.1	0.1
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	220.267	220.317	219.246	2.0	-0.5	-0.5
All items less shelter	212.208	211.929	210.672	1.8	-0.7	-0.6
Commodities less food	145.313	145.549	142.448	-2.5	-2.0	-2.1
Nondurables	216.186	217.440	214.430	0.8	-0.8	-1.4
Nondurables less food	196.000	197.094	190.943	-2.5	-2.6	-3.1
Services less rent of shelter (2)	296.722	294.713	294.829	3.9	-0.6	0.0
Services less medical care services	269.303	268.951	268.785	3.3	-0.2	-0.1
Energy	238.682	235.329	220.273	4.1	-7.7	-6.4
All items less energy	230.710	231.113	231.621	1.9	0.4	0.2
All items less food and energy	230.456	230.671	231.092	1.4	0.3	0.2
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.