The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area was down 0.7 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that the index for food was up 0.4 percent, and the energy index fell 6.6 percent over the month. The all items less food and energy index decreased 0.5 percent in March. Within the all items less food and energy category, prices were lower over the month for new vehicles, apparel, and recreation, but higher for shelter. (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 1.1 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Over the year, the all items less food and energy index rose 1.6 percent. The food index was up 2.4 percent, and the energy index declined 7.6 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.4 percent in March. Of the two components within the food index, prices for food at home (groceries) increased 0.6 percent, while prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) were up 0.2 percent. Within the food at home group, indexes were higher in March for carbonated drinks, snacks, and frozen and freeze-dried prepared foods.

From March 2019 to March 2020, the food index increased 2.4 percent. Over the year, grocery prices were up 2.1 percent, and costs for food away from home rose 2.7 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 6.6 percent in March. Among the index’s components, prices were lower for gasoline (-10.2 percent), electricity (-4.1 percent), and utility (piped) gas service (-1.7 percent).   

Over the year, the Chicago area energy index fell 7.6 percent. From March 2019 to March 2020, gasoline prices were down 14.5 percent, and the utility (piped) gas service index fell 0.7 percent. The electricity index was 0.2 percent higher over the year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy fell 0.5 percent in March. Among the index’s components, prices were lower over the month for new vehicles (-1.9 percent), apparel (-2.3 percent), and recreation (-1.4 percent), but higher for shelter (+0.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.6 percent. Contributing factors included increases in the indexes for shelter (+2.6 percent) and medical care (+5.1 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
May	0.0	0.3	0.2	1.8	0.4	2.3	0.8	1.2
June	0.5	0.7	0.0	1.3	-0.2	2.2	-0.4	1.0
July	-0.8	-0.1	0.0	2.2	-0.3	1.9	0.3	1.6
August	0.2	-0.2	0.3	2.3	0.1	1.7	0.2	1.6
September	0.6	0.6	0.4	2.1	0.4	1.6	0.2	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 April 2020 Consumer Price Index for Chicago is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, May 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 approximately 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.

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