Prices in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.6 percent in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.  Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that food prices increased 1.9 percent and the energy index was down 1.1 percent in September. The all items less food and energy index rose 0.4 percent in September due to higher prices for apparel and shelter. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 1.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.)  The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.6 percent over the year. Food prices rose 4.2 percent. Energy prices declined 8.2 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 1.9 percent for the month of September.  Prices for food at home (groceries) declined 0.1 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) advanced 4.6 percent for the same period. Within the food at home group, indexes were higher in September for carbonated drinks; fresh fish and seafood; and frozen and freeze dried prepared foods, while prices were lower for milk and coffee.

Over the year, food prices rose 4.2 percent. Prices for food at home increased 3.2 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home advanced 5.4 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 1.1 percent over the month. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-2.0 percent). Prices for utility (piped) gas service rose 3.7 percent, while prices for electricity decreased 2.7 percent for the same period.

Energy prices declined 8.2 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-17.5 percent). Prices paid for utility (piped) gas service advanced 5.9 percent, while prices for electricity were unchanged during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.4 percent in September. Higher prices for apparel (+9.6 percent) and shelter (+0.2 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for other goods and services (-0.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.6 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (+2.0 percent) and medical care (+6.2 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in apparel (-4.7 percent) and other goods and services (-0.4 percent).

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

Month	2016		2017		2018		2019		2020
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.8	0.9	0.7	1.8	0.8	1.8	0.6	0.8	0.9	2.6
February	-0.2	0.7	0.1	2.2	0.0	1.6	0.6	1.4	0.0	2.0
March	0.1	0.2	-0.1	2.0	0.0	1.8	0.1	1.5	-0.7	1.1
April	0.6	0.7	0.4	1.7	0.7	2.1	-0.1	0.8	-0.9	0.3
May	0.0	0.3	0.2	1.8	0.4	2.3	0.8	1.2	1.0	0.4
June	0.5	0.7	0.0	1.3	-0.2	2.2	-0.4	1.0	0.3	1.1
July	-0.8	-0.1	0.0	2.2	-0.3	1.9	0.3	1.6	0.2	1.0
August	0.2	-0.2	0.3	2.3	0.1	1.7	0.2	1.6	0.1	1.0
September	0.6	0.6	0.4	2.1	0.4	1.6	0.2	1.4	0.6	1.4
October	0.1	0.8	-0.4	1.6	0.0	2.0	0.3	1.8
November	0.2	1.5	0.4	1.8	-0.6	1.0	-0.2	2.2
December	-0.2	1.9	-0.4	1.7	-0.3	1.1	-0.2	2.2

The October 2020 Consumer Price Index for Chicago is scheduled to be released on Thursday, November 12, 2020.

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 93 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 29 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 75 urban areas across the country from about 5,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 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-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI, Core Based Statistical Area covered in this release is comprised of Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties in Illinois; Jasper, Lake, Newton, 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.