The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Chicago-Gary-Kenosha area edged up 0.1 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that energy prices rose 0.9 percent and food prices increased 0.6 percent in April. The all items less food and energy index was unchanged over the month. Among the indexes within the all items less food and energy index, prices rose for medical care, but were lower for apparel, education and communication, and recreation in April. (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 decreased 0.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index fell 23.5 percent over the year as falling gasoline prices and utility (piped) gas service costs overcame increases in electricity costs. The all items less food and energy index was 1.2 percent higher over the year. (See table 1.)

 

Food

Food prices rose 0.6 percent in April following a 0.3 percent increase in March. 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) increased 0.5 percent, over the month. Within the food at home group, categories experiencing increases included citrus fruits along with cakes, cupcakes, and cookies. Prices were lower for lettuce, cheese and related products, and carbonated drinks.

From April 2014 to April 2015, the food index increased 2.6 percent. Grocery food prices rose 2.5 percent over the year, while prices for food eaten away from home increased 2.8 percent compared to last April.

Energy

The energy index was up 0.9 percent in April due mostly to a 3.3 percent increase in gasoline prices.  The electricity index rose 1.6 percent and utility (piped) gas service costs fell 5.5 percent from March to April.

On an annual basis, the Chicago area energy index declined 23.5 percent. Over the year, gasoline prices and utility (piped) gas service costs fell 31.2 percent and 45.0 percent, respectively, while the index for electricity rose 26.3 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy was unchanged in April. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for medical care (0.5 percent). In contrast, prices were lower for apparel (-2.7 percent), education and communication (-0.3 percent), and recreation (-0.4 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.2 percent. Annual increases in the indexes for shelter (2.8 percent) and medical care (3.1 percent) were the major contributing factors. In contrast, apparel prices were down 7.9 percent over the year.

 

Table A. Chicago CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2011		2012		2013		2014		2015
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.6	1.4	0.6	2.1	0.2	1.2	0.9	1.2	-0.2	0.4
February	0.5	1.8	0.0	1.6	1.1	2.3	0.5	0.7	0.0	-0.2
March	0.8	2.3	1.2	2.1	-0.1	0.9	1.1	1.9	0.7	-0.6
April	0.4	2.7	0.0	1.7	0.0	0.9	0.5	2.4	0.1	-0.9
May	0.6	3.3	-0.1	1.0	0.5	1.5	-0.1	1.8
June	0.0	3.8	-0.1	0.9	0.1	1.7	0.4	2.0
July	-0.4	3.2	-0.2	1.1	-0.2	1.7	-0.4	1.9
August	0.2	3.2	0.6	1.5	0.1	1.1	0.1	1.9
September	0.2	3.1	0.3	1.6	-0.2	0.7	0.0	2.1
October	-0.2	2.9	-0.2	1.7	-0.3	0.5	-0.4	2.0
November	-0.2	2.9	-0.4	1.5	-0.3	0.6	-0.8	1.6
December	-0.5	2.1	-0.3	1.7	-0.3	0.5	-0.4	1.5

The May 2015 Consumer Price Index for Chicago is scheduled to be released on Thursday, June 18, 2015, 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 89 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 28 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 6,000 housing units and approximately 24,000 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.