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16-932-CHI
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Chicago-Gary-Kenosha area increased 0.6 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that energy prices rose 4.3 percent and food prices were up 1.2 percent in April. 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 category, prices were higher for shelter, education and communication, 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 12.9 percent over the year primarily due to declining gasoline prices. The all items less food and energy index was 1.8 percent higher over the year. (See table 1.)
FoodFood prices rose 1.2 percent in April following a 1.0-percent decrease in March. Between the two components within the food index, prices for food at home (groceries) increased 1.3 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) were 0.9 percent higher over the month. Within the food at home group, prices were up for citrus fruits, other fresh fruits, and fresh fish and seafood. In contrast, the indexes for eggs, apples, and uncooked beef roasts experienced decreases.
From April 2015 to April 2016, the food index increased 1.4 percent. Prices for food eaten away from home rose 4.0 percent over the year, while grocery food prices declined 0.4 percent.
EnergyThe energy index was up 4.3 percent in April primarily due to gasoline prices rising 11.2 percent. Utility (piped) gas service costs recorded a decrease of 2.2 percent over the month, and electricity prices were down 0.5 percent.
On an annual basis, the Chicago area energy index declined 12.9 percent. The major contributing factor for the energy index’s decline was the 15.5-percent decrease in gasoline prices since April 2015. Electricity prices fell 12.2 percent and utility (piped) gas service costs fell 7.5 percent during the same period.
All items less food and energyThe index for all items less food and energy increased 0.2 percent in April. Prices were higher for shelter (0.2 percent), education and communication (0.4 percent), and recreation (0.5 percent), but lower for household furnishings and operations (-0.6 percent).
Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.8 percent. Increases in the indexes for shelter (2.7 percent), medical care (2.2 percent), and recreation (2.8 percent) were major contributing factors. Prices were lower for household furnishings and operations (-4.3 percent) and apparel (-1.7 percent).
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 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
April | 0.0 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 2.4 | 0.1 | -0.9 | 0.6 | 0.7 |
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 May 2016 Consumer Price Index for Chicago is scheduled to be released on Thursday, June 16, 2016.
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.
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.
Item and Group | Indexes | Percent change from- | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Feb. 2016 | Mar. 2016 | Apr. 2016 | Apr. 2015 | Feb. 2016 | Mar. 2016 | |
Expenditure category | ||||||
All items | 227.438 | 227.778 | 229.197 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.6 |
All items (1967=100) | 679.489 | 680.507 | 684.745 | - | - | - |
Food and beverages | 243.687 | 241.529 | 244.140 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 1.1 |
Food | 243.490 | 241.142 | 243.985 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 1.2 |
Food at home | 238.542 | 234.737 | 237.899 | -0.4 | -0.3 | 1.3 |
Food away from home | 245.031 | 245.032 | 247.301 | 4.0 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
Alcoholic beverages | 244.869 | 245.528 | 244.694 | -0.4 | -0.1 | -0.3 |
Housing | 235.109 | 234.672 | 234.650 | 1.1 | -0.2 | 0.0 |
Shelter | 295.174 | 294.015 | 294.479 | 2.7 | -0.2 | 0.2 |
Rent of primary residence (1) | 310.874 | 310.717 | 311.114 | 2.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
298.803 | 298.599 | 298.911 | 2.4 | 0.0 | 0.1 | |
298.803 | 298.599 | 298.911 | 2.4 | 0.0 | 0.1 | |
Fuels and utilities | 188.848 | 192.282 | 190.815 | -5.7 | 1.0 | -0.8 |
Household energy | 151.073 | 151.246 | 149.707 | -10.5 | -0.9 | -1.0 |
Energy services (1) | 153.903 | 154.154 | 152.491 | -10.5 | -0.9 | -1.1 |
Electricity (1) | 155.175 | 156.471 | 155.732 | -12.2 | 0.4 | -0.5 |
Utility (piped) gas service (1) | 138.482 | 137.028 | 134.023 | -7.5 | -3.2 | -2.2 |
Household furnishings and operations | 94.235 | 93.553 | 93.024 | -4.3 | -1.3 | -0.6 |
Apparel | 89.863 | 87.730 | 88.250 | -1.7 | -1.8 | 0.6 |
Transportation | 169.456 | 175.370 | 179.773 | -3.0 | 6.1 | 2.5 |
Private transportation | 165.136 | 171.587 | 175.531 | -3.3 | 6.3 | 2.3 |
Motor fuel | 148.371 | 181.813 | 202.163 | -15.5 | 36.3 | 11.2 |
Gasoline (all types) | 146.680 | 180.039 | 200.250 | -15.5 | 36.5 | 11.2 |
Gasoline, unleaded regular (3) | 138.316 | 171.969 | 191.964 | -16.8 | 38.8 | 11.6 |
174.342 | 204.785 | 224.879 | -11.8 | 29.0 | 9.8 | |
Gasoline, unleaded premium (3) | 179.414 | 205.601 | 224.450 | -7.1 | 25.1 | 9.2 |
Medical care | 470.690 | 471.737 | 472.816 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 |
Recreation (5) | 111.243 | 110.923 | 111.489 | 2.8 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
Education and communication (5) | 142.838 | 142.143 | 142.775 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
Other goods and services | 382.476 | 383.173 | 383.302 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
Commodity and service group | ||||||
All items | 227.438 | 227.778 | 229.197 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.6 |
Commodities | 162.916 | 164.038 | 166.064 | -1.3 | 1.9 | 1.2 |
Commodities less food & beverages | 122.512 | 124.895 | 126.587 | -3.5 | 3.3 | 1.4 |
Nondurables less food & beverages | 153.926 | 159.843 | 164.641 | -3.9 | 7.0 | 3.0 |
Durables | 91.508 | 91.191 | 90.538 | -2.3 | -1.1 | -0.7 |
Services | 288.641 | 288.202 | 288.999 | 1.8 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
Special aggregate indexes | ||||||
All items less medical care | 217.009 | 217.319 | 218.754 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.7 |
All items less shelter | 204.596 | 205.458 | 207.211 | -0.4 | 1.3 | 0.9 |
Commodities less food | 126.846 | 129.210 | 130.856 | -3.3 | 3.2 | 1.3 |
Nondurables | 198.970 | 201.033 | 204.819 | -1.0 | 2.9 | 1.9 |
Nondurables less food | 159.762 | 165.416 | 169.925 | -3.6 | 6.4 | 2.7 |
Services less rent of shelter (2) | 296.728 | 296.960 | 298.071 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
Services less medical care services | 274.929 | 274.395 | 275.221 | 1.8 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
Energy | 149.771 | 162.822 | 169.760 | -12.9 | 13.3 | 4.3 |
All items less energy | 236.599 | 235.765 | 236.685 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
All items less food and energy | 236.180 | 235.619 | 236.192 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
Footnotes | ||||||
- Data not available. |
Last Modified Date: Tuesday, May 17, 2016