Prices in the Midwest Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.8 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The April increase was most influenced by higher prices for all items less food and energy. (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 increased 4.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.3 percent over the year, as food prices increased 2.1 percent. Energy prices surged 35.8 percent during the previous 12 months. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.4 percent for the month of April. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home increased 0.6 percent and prices for food away from home advanced 0.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 2.1 percent. Prices for food away from home increased 4.0 percent since a year ago and prices for food at home increased 0.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 2.0 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (3.2 percent), though prices for natural gas service also rose (4.9 percent). In contrast, prices for electricity declined 0.8 percent for the same period.

Energy prices surged 35.8 percent over the year. The increase was largely due to higher prices for gasoline, up 75.8 percent, but prices paid for natural gas service also jumped, up 25.5 percent. Prices for electricity rose 1.4 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.7 percent in April. Higher prices for used cars and trucks (9.9 percent) and shelter (0.4 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for medical care services (-0.4 percent) and apparel (-0.9 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.3 percent. Components contributing the most to the increase included shelter (2.7 percent) and used cars and trucks (21.8 percent). The 1.4-percent decline in prices for medical care commodities did little to slow the advance.

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

Month	2017		2018		2019		2020		2021
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.7	2.2	0.4	1.6	-0.2	0.8	0.4	2.5	0.5	1.2
February	0.8	2.4	0.9	1.7	0.9	1.3	0.3	2.1	0.8	1.7
March	0.2	1.9	0.4	1.8	1.3	1.7	-0.5	1.0	0.7	3.0
April	0.5	1.8	0.6	1.8	0.9	1.5	-1.1	-0.4	0.8	4.9
May	0.4	1.4	0.9	2.3	0.6	1.3	0.3	-0.4
June	0.0	0.9	0.7	2.5	0.3	1.2	0.8	0.4
July	0.1	1.3	0.1	2.4	0.2	1.5	0.5	0.7
August	0.3	1.5	-0.1	2.1	0.2	1.5	0.4	1.1
September	0.5	1.5	0.1	1.9	0.0	1.4	0.2	1.3
October	0.1	1.5	0.2	2.2	0.2	1.5	-0.1	1.0
November	0.0	1.9	-0.5	1.4	0.0	1.9	-0.2	1.0
December	0.0	1.7	-0.9	1.3	-0.2	2.3	0.1	1.1

The May 2021 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest Region is scheduled to be released on Thursday, June 10, 2021.

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 U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. 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; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000.  Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods available on the internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/.

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 individuals with sensory impairments 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
	Feb. 2021	Mar. 2021	Apr. 2021	Apr. 2020	Feb. 2021	Mar. 2021
All items	244.477	246.246	248.169	4.9	1.5	0.8
All items (December 1977 = 100)	397.778	400.657	403.784
Food and beverages	257.637	257.839	258.926	2.1	0.5	0.4
Food	257.124	257.522	258.666	2.1	0.6	0.4
Food at home	235.863	236.421	237.832	0.6	0.8	0.6
Cereals and bakery products	267.373	266.884	268.483	1.5	0.4	0.6
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	256.395	258.463	259.467	-1.6	1.2	0.4
Dairy and related products	209.923	208.663	208.721	0.9	-0.6	0.0
Fruits and vegetables	275.627	277.436	282.067	4.7	2.3	1.7
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	172.824	172.645	172.048	0.7	-0.4	-0.3
Other food at home	204.089	204.534	206.096	-0.7	1.0	0.8
Food away from home	292.202	292.365	293.123	4.0	0.3	0.3
Alcoholic beverages	262.583	260.342	260.706	1.8	-0.7	0.1
Housing	241.060	242.209	243.467	3.4	1.0	0.5
Shelter	289.397	290.464	291.656	2.7	0.8	0.4
Rent of primary residence(1)	291.968	292.777	293.452	2.5	0.5	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)(2)	296.561	297.566	298.401	2.6	0.6	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)(2)	296.488	297.487	298.319	2.6	0.6	0.3
Fuels and utilities	228.685	231.207	232.748	7.8	1.8	0.7
Household energy	183.021	185.415	186.910	9.2	2.1	0.8
Energy services(1)	188.415	191.221	193.353	8.6	2.6	1.1
Electricity(1)	200.245	201.986	200.386	1.4	0.1	-0.8
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	157.272	161.579	169.477	25.5	7.8	4.9
Household furnishings and operations	119.297	119.950	121.198	3.9	1.6	1.0
Apparel	113.360	113.075	112.027	1.7	-1.2	-0.9
Transportation	202.003	208.068	214.868	17.8	6.4	3.3
Private transportation	200.386	206.586	212.755	18.5	6.2	3.0
New and used motor vehicles(3)	100.404	101.170	105.690	8.2	5.3	4.5
New vehicles	141.160	139.018	139.867	1.5	-0.9	0.6
New cars and trucks(3)(4)	99.789	98.291	98.891	1.5	-0.9	0.6
New cars(4)	139.773	137.104	137.040	0.9	-2.0	0.0
Used cars and trucks	149.743	153.483	168.641	21.8	12.6	9.9
Motor fuel	223.779	246.035	253.691	74.1	13.4	3.1
Gasoline (all types)	222.543	244.693	252.459	75.8	13.4	3.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	216.461	238.331	246.037	78.6	13.7	3.2
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	261.041	284.381	290.745	61.9	11.4	2.2
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	245.420	266.566	274.030	50.5	11.7	2.8
Motor vehicle insurance(6)	730.531	742.993	740.932	9.0	1.4	-0.3
Medical care	525.867	525.593	523.738	1.9	-0.4	-0.4
Medical care commodities	376.372	374.872	374.730	-1.4	-0.4	0.0
Medical care services	575.568	575.682	573.274	2.6	-0.4	-0.4
Professional services	439.955	440.347	434.100	1.8	-1.3	-1.4
Recreation(3)	125.616	125.974	126.499	2.7	0.7	0.4
Education and communication(3)	141.211	141.141	141.016	1.5	-0.1	-0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)	1,219.762	1,220.956	1,219.342	1.7	0.0	-0.1
Other goods and services	447.000	451.954	453.953	1.9	1.6	0.4
Commodity and service group
Commodities	183.356	185.171	187.652	7.8	2.3	1.3
Commodities less food and beverages	148.184	150.500	153.373	11.5	3.5	1.9
Nondurables less food and beverages	191.771	196.798	198.279	15.8	3.4	0.8
Durables	105.265	105.705	109.074	7.3	3.6	3.2
Services	307.558	309.237	310.492	3.1	1.0	0.4
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	230.823	232.834	235.007	5.9	1.8	0.9
All items less medical care	231.141	233.014	235.124	5.3	1.7	0.9
Commodities less food	151.695	153.899	156.715	11.1	3.3	1.8
Nondurables	223.955	226.707	228.007	8.0	1.8	0.6
Nondurables less food	195.601	200.157	201.563	14.5	3.0	0.7
Services less rent of shelter(2)	336.234	338.579	339.921	3.5	1.1	0.4
Services less medical care services	287.465	289.278	290.832	3.2	1.2	0.5
Energy	201.571	212.902	217.170	35.8	7.7	2.0
All items less energy	251.755	252.663	254.394	3.1	1.0	0.7
All items less food and energy	251.544	252.546	254.386	3.3	1.1	0.7
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.