The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Chicago-Gary-Kenosha area increased 0.5 percent in June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that energy prices rose 4.2 percent while food prices declined 0.4 percent in June. 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 higher for shelter and recreation but lower for apparel. (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 0.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index fell 10.3 percent over the year as prices declined for gasoline, electricity, and utility (piped) gas service. The all items less food and energy index was 1.8 percent higher over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices fell 0.4 percent in June following a 0.5-percent decrease in May. Between the two components within the food index, prices for food at home (groceries) decreased 0.7 percent, while prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) were 0.2 percent higher over the month. Within the food at home group, prices were lower for lettuce, carbonated drinks, and tomatoes. In contrast, the indexes for apples and eggs experienced increases.

From June 2015 to June 2016, the food index increased 0.7 percent. Prices for food eaten away from home rose 3.7 percent over the year, while grocery food prices declined 1.3 percent.

Energy

The energy index was up 4.2 percent in June primarily due to gasoline prices rising 8.7 percent. Utility (piped) gas service costs increased 5.3 percent over the month, while the electricity index was down 2.8 percent.

Over the year, the Chicago area energy index declined 10.3 percent. The major contributing factor in the energy index’s decline was a 14.5-percent decrease in gasoline prices from June 2015. The electricity index fell 6.1 percent and utility (piped) gas service costs fell 3.8 percent during the same period.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.3 percent in June. Prices were higher for shelter (0.9 percent) and recreation (1.4 percent). Apparel prices were 1.5 percent lower over the month.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.8 percent. Increases in the indexes for shelter (3.2 percent) and medical care (2.0 percent) were major contributing factors. Prices were down 3.7 percent for household furnishings and operations.

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	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	0.0	0.3
June	-0.1	0.9	0.1	1.7	0.4	2.0	0.2	-0.7	0.5	0.6
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 July 2016 Consumer Price Index for Chicago is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, August 16, 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.

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-
	Apr. 2016	May 2016	Jun. 2016	Jun. 2015	Apr. 2016	May 2016
Expenditure category
All items	229.197	229.257	230.307	0.6	0.5	0.5
All items (1967=100)	684.745	684.925	688.060	-	-	-
Food and beverages	244.140	242.985	242.182	0.6	-0.8	-0.3
Food	243.985	242.765	241.914	0.7	-0.8	-0.4
Food at home	237.899	235.636	233.889	-1.3	-1.7	-0.7
Food away from home	247.301	247.752	248.330	3.7	0.4	0.2
Alcoholic beverages	244.694	244.504	244.426	0.6	-0.1	0.0
Housing	234.650	234.952	236.478	2.0	0.8	0.6
Shelter	294.479	294.568	297.282	3.2	1.0	0.9
Rent of primary residence (1)	311.114	311.695	312.688	2.4	0.5	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences (1) (2)	298.911	299.775	300.313	2.6	0.5	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence (1) (2)	298.911	299.775	300.313	2.6	0.5	0.2
Fuels and utilities	190.815	192.257	192.555	-2.0	0.9	0.2
Household energy	149.707	150.457	150.516	-5.6	0.5	0.0
Energy services (1)	152.491	153.423	153.429	-5.5	0.6	0.0
Electricity (1)	155.732	157.431	153.072	-6.1	-1.7	-2.8
Utility (piped) gas service (1)	134.023	133.639	140.672	-3.8	5.0	5.3
Household furnishings and operations	93.024	93.253	92.198	-3.7	-0.9	-1.1
Apparel	88.250	87.536	86.203	-0.8	-2.3	-1.5
Transportation	179.773	182.559	185.633	-4.2	3.3	1.7
Private transportation	175.531	178.485	182.195	-4.4	3.8	2.1
Motor fuel	202.163	218.064	237.082	-14.6	17.3	8.7
Gasoline (all types)	200.250	216.003	234.900	-14.5	17.3	8.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular (3)	191.964	207.394	226.215	-15.5	17.8	9.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (3) (4)	224.879	242.246	260.830	-11.5	16.0	7.7
Gasoline, unleaded premium (3)	224.450	238.978	255.671	-8.2	13.9	7.0
Medical care	472.816	474.541	473.136	2.0	0.1	-0.3
Recreation (5)	111.489	108.563	110.079	0.3	-1.3	1.4
Education and communication (5)	142.775	142.333	141.753	0.3	-0.7	-0.4
Other goods and services	383.302	382.602	385.358	0.6	0.5	0.7
Commodity and service group
All items	229.197	229.257	230.307	0.6	0.5	0.5
Commodities	166.064	166.469	166.941	-1.9	0.5	0.3
Commodities less food & beverages	126.587	127.599	128.560	-4.0	1.6	0.8
Nondurables less food & beverages	164.641	166.944	169.989	-4.3	3.2	1.8
Durables	90.538	90.553	89.952	-2.2	-0.6	-0.7
Services	288.999	288.716	290.325	2.1	0.5	0.6
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	218.754	218.742	219.900	0.5	0.5	0.5
All items less shelter	207.211	207.261	207.737	-0.6	0.3	0.2
Commodities less food	130.856	131.848	132.793	-3.7	1.5	0.7
Nondurables	204.819	205.469	206.680	-1.6	0.9	0.6
Nondurables less food	169.925	172.101	174.988	-4.0	3.0	1.7
Services less rent of shelter (2)	298.071	297.375	297.861	0.8	-0.1	0.2
Services less medical care services	275.221	274.655	276.461	2.1	0.5	0.7
Energy	169.760	176.374	183.772	-10.3	8.3	4.2
All items less energy	236.685	236.139	236.610	1.6	0.0	0.2
All items less food and energy	236.192	235.767	236.480	1.8	0.1	0.3
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.