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News Release Information

17-408-CHI
Friday, April 14, 2017

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (312) 353-1138

Consumer Price Index, Chicago-Gary-Kenosha — March 2017

Local prices rise 2.0 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Chicago-Gary-Kenosha area edged down 0.1 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that food prices increased 0.3 percent and energy prices rose 0.9 percent in March. The all items less food and energy index declined 0.3 percent over the month. Among the indexes within the all items less food and energy category, prices were lower for shelter and 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 increased 2.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy costs rose 11.8 percent over the year, primarily due to an increase in the index for gasoline. The all items less food and energy index was 1.4 percent higher over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices had an increase of 0.3 percent in March after remaining unchanged in February. Over the month the indexes for both food at home (groceries) and food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) rose 0.5 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively. Within the food at home group, prices were higher in March for other fresh fruits, apples, and coffee. In contrast, the indexes nonfrozen noncarbonated juices and drinks and cakes, cupcakes, and cookies were lower.

From March 2016 to March 2017, the food index rose 0.7 percent. Grocery prices declined 0.4 percent, while food away from home prices rose 2.4 percent over the year.

Energy

The energy index increased 0.9 percent in March primarily due to gasoline prices rising 1.8 percent. The electricity index rose 1.7 percent over the month, while utility (piped) gas service costs decreased 2.0 percent.

Over the year, the Chicago area energy index rose 11.8 percent. The major contributing factors in the energy index’s rise were an 18.3-percent increase in gasoline prices and a 19.6-percent increase in the utility (piped) gas service index. Electricity costs were little changed with a 0.1-percent increase over the year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy decreased 0.3 percent in March. Among the index’s components, prices were lower for shelter (-0.4 percent), apparel (-3.9 percent), and education and communication (-1.4 percent), but higher for recreation (1.9 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.4 percent. Increases in the indexes for shelter (2.0 percent) and medical care (4.2 percent) were major contributing factors.

Table A. Chicago CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month20132014201520162017
1-month12-month1-month12-month1-month12-month1-month12-month1-month12-month

January

0.21.20.91.2-0.20.40.80.90.71.8

February

1.12.30.50.70.0-0.2-0.20.70.12.2

March

-0.10.91.11.90.7-0.60.10.2-0.12.0

April

0.00.90.52.40.1-0.90.60.7  

May

0.51.5-0.11.80.3-0.50.00.3  

June

0.11.70.42.00.2-0.70.50.7  

July

-0.21.7-0.41.9-0.1-0.5-0.8-0.1  

August

0.11.10.11.90.4-0.10.2-0.2  

September

-0.20.70.02.1-0.3-0.40.60.6  

October

-0.30.5-0.42.0-0.1-0.20.10.8  

November

-0.30.6-0.81.6-0.40.20.21.5  

December

-0.30.5-0.41.5-0.60.0-0.21.9  

The April 2017 Consumer Price Index for Chicago is scheduled to be released on Friday, May 12, 2017.


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

 
IndexesPercent change from-
Jan.
2017
Feb.
2017
Mar.
2017
Mar.
2016
Jan.
2017
Feb.
2017

Expenditure category

 
 

All items

232.155232.491232.2252.00.0-0.1

All items (1967=100)

693.581694.586693.792---

Food and beverages

242.524242.266242.9870.60.20.3

Food

242.117242.088242.8420.70.30.3

Food at home

232.695232.648233.725-0.40.40.5

Food away from home

250.726250.726250.9532.40.10.1

Alcoholic beverages

246.802243.173243.410-0.9-1.40.1

Housing

240.097240.382239.6982.1-0.2-0.3

Shelter

300.959301.142299.8772.0-0.4-0.4

Rent of primary residence(1)

317.668318.021318.0712.40.10.0

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)

304.947304.978305.4442.30.20.2

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)

304.947304.978305.4442.30.20.2

Fuels and utilities

202.833203.417203.8956.00.50.2

Household energy

160.768161.380161.6216.90.50.1

Energy services(1)

163.895164.534164.8787.00.60.2

Electricity(1)

154.025154.027156.6350.11.71.7

Utility (piped) gas service(1)

165.549167.158163.82819.6-1.0-2.0

Household furnishings and operations

91.77692.16392.416-1.20.70.3

Apparel

85.12186.95883.546-4.8-1.9-3.9

Transportation

182.556180.859182.1583.9-0.20.7

Private transportation

179.380177.223178.4554.0-0.50.7

Motor fuel

223.642211.378215.11918.3-3.81.8

Gasoline (all types)

221.456209.239212.95018.3-3.81.8

Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)

212.045200.295203.63118.4-4.01.7

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)

250.531236.133242.21918.3-3.32.6

Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)

248.844236.313240.73217.1-3.31.9

Medical care

492.224492.667491.4014.2-0.2-0.3

Recreation(5)

107.772111.345113.5012.35.31.9

Education and communication(5)

145.522145.495143.4320.9-1.4-1.4

Other goods and services

385.260384.379384.4390.3-0.20.0
 

Commodity and service group

 
 

All items

232.155232.491232.2252.00.0-0.1

Commodities

165.286164.788164.5270.3-0.5-0.2

Commodities less food & beverages

126.184125.614124.9710.1-1.0-0.5

Nondurables less food & beverages

167.297165.539164.4132.9-1.7-0.7

Durables

87.96788.28888.036-3.50.1-0.3

Services

295.630296.790296.5232.90.3-0.1
 

Special aggregate indexes

 
 

All items less medical care

220.993221.324221.1021.70.0-0.1

All items less shelter

208.956209.346209.4261.90.20.0

Commodities less food

130.512129.859129.2320.0-1.0-0.5

Nondurables

205.431204.382204.1411.5-0.6-0.1

Nondurables less food

172.564170.693169.6382.6-1.7-0.6

Services less rent of shelter(2)

305.271307.536308.4183.91.00.3

Services less medical care services

280.617281.815281.6602.60.4-0.1

Energy

184.835180.462182.05711.8-1.50.9

All items less energy

238.546239.321238.8811.30.1-0.2

All items less food and energy

238.739239.664239.0041.40.1-0.3

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. Data not seasonally adjusted.
 

 

Last Modified Date: Friday, April 14, 2017