The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Chicago-Gary-Kenosha area decreased 0.2 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that energy prices fell 5.8 percent and food prices were down 0.8 percent in February. The all items less food and energy index increased 0.3 percent over the month. Among the indexes within the all items less food and energy category, prices were lower for apparel, but higher for shelter, medical care, and recreation. (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 rose 0.7 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index fell 18.2 percent over the year due to annual declines in gasoline prices. The all items less food and energy index was 2.2 percent higher over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices fell 0.8 percent in February following a 0.9-percent increase in January. Between the two components within the food index, prices for food at home (groceries) decreased 1.3 percent, while prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) were unchanged over the month. Within the food at home group, prices were down for tomatoes, lettuce, and uncooked ground beef. In contrast, the indexes for apples and other pork including roasts and picnics experienced increases.

From February 2015 to February 2016, the food index increased 2.1 percent. Prices for food eaten away from home increased 3.8 percent over the year, while grocery food prices rose 0.9 percent from the previous February.

Energy

The energy index was down 5.8 percent in February primarily due to gasoline prices falling 14.9 percent. In contrast, utility (piped) gas service costs rose 2.2 percent while electricity costs recorded little movement, up 0.1 percent over the month.

On an annual basis, the Chicago area energy index declined 18.2 percent over the year. The major contributing factor for the energy index’s decline was the 29.5 percent decrease in gasoline prices since February 2015. Electricity costs fell 10.9 percent and utility (piped) gas service costs fell 6.2 percent during the same period.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent in February. Prices were lower for apparel (-1.0 percent), but higher for shelter (0.4 percent), medical care (0.7 percent), and recreation (0.6 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.2 percent. Annual increases in the indexes for shelter (3.3 percent), medical care (1.4 percent), and recreation (2.2 percent) were major contributing factors.  

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

Month	2012		2013		2014		2015		2016
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.6	2.1	0.2	1.2	0.9	1.2	-0.2	0.4	0.8	0.9
February	0.0	1.6	1.1	2.3	0.5	0.7	0.0	-0.2	-0.2	0.7
March	1.2	2.1	-0.1	0.9	1.1	1.9	0.7	-0.6
April	0.0	1.7	0.0	0.9	0.5	2.4	0.1	-0.9
May	-0.1	1.0	0.5	1.5	-0.1	1.8	0.3	-0.5
June	-0.1	0.9	0.1	1.7	0.4	2.0	0.2	-0.7
July	-0.2	1.1	-0.2	1.7	-0.4	1.9	-0.1	-0.5
August	0.6	1.5	0.1	1.1	0.1	1.9	0.4	-0.1
September	0.3	1.6	-0.2	0.7	0.0	2.1	-0.3	-0.4
October	-0.2	1.7	-0.3	0.5	-0.4	2.0	-0.1	-0.2
November	-0.4	1.5	-0.3	0.6	-0.8	1.6	-0.4	0.2
December	-0.3	1.7	-0.3	0.5	-0.4	1.5	-0.6	0.0

The March 2016 Consumer Price Index for Chicago is scheduled to be released on Thursday, April 14, 2016.

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/pdf/homch17.pdf.

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.

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