Prices in the Midwest Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.3 percent in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The May increase was most influenced by higher prices for gasoline 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 decreased 0.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) . Energy prices fell 19.6 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. Food prices rose 3.3 percent. The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.8 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.7 percent for the month of May. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 1.0 percent and prices for food away from home edged up 0.2 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 3.3 percent. Prices for food at home increased 4.8 percent since a year ago and prices for food away from home increased 1.4 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 6.7 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (13.9 percent). Prices for natural gas service increased 2.6 percent and prices for electricity rose 2.1 percent for the same period.

Energy prices fell 19.6 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-35.3 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service declined 2.0 and prices for electricity were virtually unchanged (-0.1 percent) during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged down 0.2 percent in May. Lower prices for motor vehicle insurance (-10.5 percent) and apparel (-3.0 percent) were partially offset by higher prices for shelter (0.4 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.8 percent. Components contributing to the increase included medical care services (6.6 percent) and shelter (2.0 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in motor vehicle insurance (-16.8 percent) and apparel (-7.0 percent).

Table A. Midwest region 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	-0.3	0.8	0.7	2.2	0.4	1.6	-0.2	0.8	0.4	2.5
February	0.2	0.4	0.8	2.4	0.9	1.7	0.9	1.3	0.3	2.1
March	0.6	0.5	0.2	1.9	0.4	1.8	1.3	1.7	-0.5	1.0
April	1.1	0.8	0.5	1.8	0.6	1.8	0.9	1.5	-1.1	-0.4
May	0.8	0.8	0.4	1.4	0.9	2.3	0.6	1.3	0.3	-0.4
June	1.0	0.8	0.0	0.9	0.7	2.5	0.3	1.2
July	0.1	0.4	0.1	1.3	0.1	2.4	0.2	1.5
August	-0.3	0.6	0.3	1.5	-0.1	2.1	0.2	1.5
September	0.4	1.1	0.5	1.5	0.1	1.9	0.0	1.4
October	0.1	1.0	0.1	1.5	0.2	2.2	0.2	1.5
November	-0.4	1.2	0.0	1.9	-0.5	1.4	0.0	1.9
December	-0.2	1.8	0.0	1.7	-0.9	1.3	-0.2	2.3

The June 2020 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest Region is scheduled to be released on July 14, 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 6,000 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 Midwest region is comprised of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and 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, Midwest Region, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)

Expenditure category	Indexes			Percent change from
	Mar. 2020	Apr. 2020	May 2020	May 2019	Mar. 2020	Apr. 2020
All items	239.163	236.474	237.291	-0.4	-0.8	0.3
All items (December 1977 = 100)	389.132	384.756	386.086
Food and beverages	250.985	253.602	255.163	3.1	1.7	0.6
Food	250.385	253.291	255.009	3.3	1.8	0.7
Food at home	230.242	236.431	238.881	4.8	3.8	1.0
Cereals and bakery products	263.897	264.421	262.661	1.1	-0.5	-0.7
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	249.895	263.699	277.320	11.2	11.0	5.2
Dairy and related products	205.106	206.834	205.984	5.5	0.4	-0.4
Fruits and vegetables	266.321	269.304	276.653	1.3	3.9	2.7
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	168.120	170.839	168.831	3.6	0.4	-1.2
Other food at home	199.916	207.573	205.651	4.0	2.9	-0.9
Food away from home	283.705	281.716	282.357	1.4	-0.5	0.2
Alcoholic beverages	257.042	256.055	255.647	1.0	-0.5	-0.2
Housing	236.274	235.453	236.766	1.7	0.2	0.6
Shelter	285.236	284.083	285.288	2.0	0.0	0.4
Rent of primary residence(1)	285.681	286.272	286.833	3.1	0.4	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)(2)	290.829	290.897	291.630	2.8	0.3	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)(2)	290.750	290.824	291.555	2.8	0.3	0.3
Fuels and utilities	218.073	215.939	219.552	-0.1	0.7	1.7
Household energy	173.522	171.241	174.911	-1.2	0.8	2.1
Energy services(1)	179.976	177.997	182.028	-0.7	1.1	2.3
Electricity(1)	197.286	197.690	201.876	-0.1	2.3	2.1
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	140.717	135.094	138.616	-2.0	-1.5	2.6
Household furnishings and operations	115.925	116.593	117.020	1.5	0.9	0.4
Apparel	114.500	110.183	106.846	-7.0	-6.7	-3.0
Transportation	194.627	182.380	183.753	-11.6	-5.6	0.8
Private transportation	191.397	179.598	181.347	-10.4	-5.3	1.0
New and used motor vehicles(3)	98.056	97.694	97.553	0.2	-0.5	-0.1
New vehicles	137.827	137.771	138.248	0.4	0.3	0.3
New cars and trucks(3)(4)	97.425	97.386	97.736	0.4	0.3	0.4
New cars(4)	136.092	135.773	135.386	0.8	-0.5	-0.3
Used cars and trucks	139.694	138.418	137.421	-0.5	-1.6	-0.7
Motor fuel	190.225	145.750	165.162	-35.0	-13.2	13.3
Gasoline (all types)	188.548	143.600	163.573	-35.3	-13.2	13.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	182.452	137.731	158.112	-35.9	-13.3	14.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	225.738	179.633	195.278	-32.4	-13.5	8.7
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	219.327	182.078	193.170	-29.6	-11.9	6.1
Motor vehicle insurance(6)	754.488	679.858	608.167	-16.8	-19.4	-10.5
Medical care	513.815	513.998	515.567	4.8	0.3	0.3
Medical care commodities	381.749	380.061	381.313	-2.5	-0.1	0.3
Medical care services	557.930	558.708	560.384	6.6	0.4	0.3
Professional services	426.030	426.252	427.548	1.7	0.4	0.3
Recreation(3)	123.663	123.227	123.004	1.5	-0.5	-0.2
Education and communication(3)	138.982	138.970	138.892	1.3	-0.1	-0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)	1,198.238	1,199.045	1,199.684	-0.1	0.1	0.1
Other goods and services	445.981	445.297	444.549	2.2	-0.3	-0.2
Commodity and service group
Commodities	177.355	174.129	175.525	-3.1	-1.0	0.8
Commodities less food and beverages	142.690	137.496	138.769	-6.9	-2.7	0.9
Nondurables less food and beverages	183.552	171.227	174.352	-12.7	-5.0	1.8
Durables	102.021	101.659	101.686	0.2	-0.3	0.0
Services	303.129	301.099	301.252	1.4	-0.6	0.1
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	225.101	221.889	222.583	-1.4	-1.1	0.3
All items less medical care	226.148	223.313	224.095	-0.9	-0.9	0.4
Commodities less food	146.181	141.080	142.313	-6.6	-2.6	0.9
Nondurables	216.446	211.180	213.574	-4.4	-1.3	1.1
Nondurables less food	187.575	175.999	178.893	-11.7	-4.6	1.6
Services less rent of shelter(2)	331.502	328.499	327.416	0.8	-1.2	-0.3
Services less medical care services	284.076	281.811	281.842	0.7	-0.8	0.0
Energy	181.240	159.976	170.732	-19.6	-5.8	6.7
All items less energy	247.758	246.750	246.660	1.2	-0.4	0.0
All items less food and energy	248.021	246.317	245.905	0.8	-0.9	-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) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (6) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.