The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Chicago-Gary-Kenosha area increased 0.2 percent in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that food prices increased 0.9 percent and energy prices were down 2.0 percent in May. 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 and medical care. (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 1.8 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy costs rose 3.9 percent over the year, primarily due to an increase in the index for utility (piped) gas service. The all items less food and energy index was 1.9 percent higher over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.9 percent in May mostly due to a 1.4-percent increase in the food at home index (groceries). The food away from home index, which includes restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases, rose 0.2 percent. Within the food at home group, indexes were higher in May for carbonated drinks, pork chops, and flour and prepared flour mixes.

From May 2016 to May 2017, the food index increased 0.4 percent. Food away from home prices rose 2.0 percent over-the-year, while grocery prices were down 0.6 percent compared to May a year ago.

Energy

The energy index fell 2.0 percent in May primarily due to a 4.5-percent drop in gasoline prices. To a lesser extent, a 0.5-percent decline in the index for electricity also contributed. Utility (piped) gas service costs were up 1.7 percent in May.

Over the year, the Chicago area energy index rose 3.9 percent. Utility (piped) gas service costs rose 23.8 percent and were responsible for most of this increase. Gasoline prices were up 1.5 percent compared to May 2016 and the electricity index declined 3.1 percent on an annual basis.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.2 percent in May. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for shelter (0.7 percent) and medical care (0.5 percent). Recreation prices fell 1.8 percent over-the-month and apparel costs were down 0.8 percent compared to April.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.9 percent. Increases in the indexes for shelter (2.9 percent) and medical care (4.0 percent) were major contributing factors.

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

Month	2013		2014		2015		2016		2017
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.2	1.2	0.9	1.2	-0.2	0.4	0.8	0.9	0.7	1.8
February	1.1	2.3	0.5	0.7	0.0	-0.2	-0.2	0.7	0.1	2.2
March	-0.1	0.9	1.1	1.9	0.7	-0.6	0.1	0.2	-0.1	2.0
April	0.0	0.9	0.5	2.4	0.1	-0.9	0.6	0.7	0.4	1.7
May	0.5	1.5	-0.1	1.8	0.3	-0.5	0.0	0.3	0.2	1.8
June	0.1	1.7	0.4	2.0	0.2	-0.7	0.5	0.7
July	-0.2	1.7	-0.4	1.9	-0.1	-0.5	-0.8	-0.1
August	0.1	1.1	0.1	1.9	0.4	-0.1	0.2	-0.2
September	-0.2	0.7	0.0	2.1	-0.3	-0.4	0.6	0.6
October	-0.3	0.5	-0.4	2.0	-0.1	-0.2	0.1	0.8
November	-0.3	0.6	-0.8	1.6	-0.4	0.2	0.2	1.5
December	-0.3	0.5	-0.4	1.5	-0.6	0.0	-0.2	1.9

The June 2017 Consumer Price Index for Chicago is scheduled to be released on Friday, July 14, 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	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Mar. 2017	Apr. 2017	May 2017	May 2016	Mar. 2017	Apr. 2017
Expenditure category
All items	232.225	233.066	233.443	1.8	0.5	0.2
All items (1967=100)	693.792	696.303	697.430	-	-	-
Food and beverages	242.987	242.079	244.050	0.4	0.4	0.8
Food	242.842	241.723	243.852	0.4	0.4	0.9
Food at home	233.725	231.135	234.298	-0.6	0.2	1.4
Food away from home	250.953	252.175	252.623	2.0	0.7	0.2
Alcoholic beverages	243.410	245.612	245.241	0.3	0.8	-0.2
Housing	239.698	240.022	241.575	2.8	0.8	0.6
Shelter	299.877	300.859	302.965	2.9	1.0	0.7
Rent of primary residence(1)	318.071	319.569	320.162	2.7	0.7	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)	305.444	306.145	306.420	2.2	0.3	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	305.444	306.145	306.420	2.2	0.3	0.1
Fuels and utilities	203.895	201.534	202.820	5.5	-0.5	0.6
Household energy	161.621	159.146	159.677	6.1	-1.2	0.3
Energy services(1)	164.878	162.311	162.850	6.1	-1.2	0.3
Electricity(1)	156.635	153.313	152.474	-3.1	-2.7	-0.5
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	163.828	162.697	165.410	23.8	1.0	1.7
Household furnishings and operations	92.416	92.478	92.645	-0.7	0.2	0.2
Apparel	83.546	86.812	86.119	-1.6	3.1	-0.8
Transportation	182.158	186.064	183.936	0.8	1.0	-1.1
Private transportation	178.455	182.061	180.002	0.8	0.9	-1.1
Motor fuel	215.119	231.854	221.368	1.5	2.9	-4.5
Gasoline (all types)	212.950	229.645	219.200	1.5	2.9	-4.5
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)	203.631	220.437	209.966	1.2	3.1	-4.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)	242.219	258.367	247.411	2.1	2.1	-4.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)	240.732	253.755	246.062	3.0	2.2	-3.0
Medical care	491.401	490.939	493.445	4.0	0.4	0.5
Recreation(5)	113.501	113.185	111.163	2.4	-2.1	-1.8
Education and communication(5)	143.432	142.626	142.921	0.4	-0.4	0.2
Other goods and services	384.439	385.179	385.182	0.7	0.2	0.0
Commodity and service group
All items	232.225	233.066	233.443	1.8	0.5	0.2
Commodities	164.527	165.906	165.595	-0.5	0.6	-0.2
Commodities less food & beverages	124.971	127.201	125.990	-1.2	0.8	-1.0
Nondurables less food & beverages	164.413	169.453	166.277	-0.4	1.1	-1.9
Durables	88.036	88.096	88.379	-2.4	0.4	0.3
Services	296.523	296.818	297.873	3.2	0.5	0.4
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	221.102	222.001	222.285	1.6	0.5	0.1
All items less shelter	209.426	210.220	209.999	1.3	0.3	-0.1
Commodities less food	129.232	131.484	130.282	-1.2	0.8	-0.9
Nondurables	204.141	206.348	205.635	0.1	0.7	-0.3
Nondurables less food	169.638	174.545	171.509	-0.3	1.1	-1.7
Services less rent of shelter(2)	308.418	307.962	307.927	3.5	-0.2	0.0
Services less medical care services	281.660	282.006	282.946	3.0	0.5	0.3
Energy	182.057	187.023	183.288	3.9	0.7	-2.0
All items less energy	238.881	239.347	240.108	1.7	0.5	0.3
All items less food and energy	239.004	239.760	240.275	1.9	0.5	0.2
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.