Prices in the Midwest Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.2 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Food prices were up 0.6 percent in August and energy costs rose 0.1 percent. The all items less food and energy index also increased 0.1 percent in August. Within the all items less food and energy category, prices were higher for shelter and household furnishings and operations. (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 5.7 percent. (See chart 1.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 4.2 percent over the year. Energy prices jumped 26.9 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. Food prices rose 4.6 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.6 percent for the month of August. Prices for food at home rose 0.5 percent, and prices for food away from home advanced 0.7 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 4.6 percent. Prices for food at home rose 3.6 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home advanced 5.8 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 0.1 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for natural gas service (2.8 percent). Prices for gasoline declined 0.3 percent, and prices for electricity decreased 0.8 percent for the same period.

Energy prices jumped 26.9 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (44.0 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service jumped 36.6 percent, and prices for electricity increased 1.3 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy was up 0.1 percent in August. Higher prices for shelter (0.3 percent) and household furnishings and operations (1.0 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-1.4 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 4.2 percent. Components contributing to the increase included new and used motor vehicles (16.8 percent) and shelter (3.4 percent).

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	1.0	5.6
June	0.0	0.9	0.7	2.5	0.3	1.2	0.8	0.4	1.0	5.8
July	0.1	1.3	0.1	2.4	0.2	1.5	0.5	0.7	0.6	5.9
August	0.3	1.5	-0.1	2.1	0.2	1.5	0.4	1.1	0.2	5.7
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 September 2021 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest Region is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, October 13, 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
	Jun. 2021	Jul. 2021	Aug. 2021	Aug. 2020	Jun. 2021	Jul. 2021
All items	253.042	254.671	255.142	5.7	0.8	0.2
All items (December 1977 = 100)	411.713	414.364	415.130
Food and beverages	262.863	264.662	266.048	4.3	1.2	0.5
Food	262.685	264.563	266.100	4.6	1.3	0.6
Food at home	239.911	241.889	243.148	3.6	1.3	0.5
Cereals and bakery products	266.483	271.821	271.032	3.2	1.7	-0.3
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	272.206	278.787	280.923	7.2	3.2	0.8
Dairy and related products	210.380	209.480	210.474	0.9	0.0	0.5
Fruits and vegetables	284.776	281.328	282.140	3.9	-0.9	0.3
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	170.493	172.584	174.915	5.2	2.6	1.4
Other food at home	204.505	205.596	206.576	1.0	1.0	0.5
Food away from home	300.104	301.855	303.828	5.8	1.2	0.7
Alcoholic beverages	263.610	264.404	263.907	1.6	0.1	-0.2
Housing	246.977	248.779	249.750	4.6	1.1	0.4
Shelter	294.263	296.222	297.007	3.4	0.9	0.3
Rent of primary residence(1)	295.241	296.658	297.715	3.0	0.8	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)(2)	300.291	301.584	302.306	2.9	0.7	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)(2)	300.200	301.495	302.218	2.9	0.7	0.2
Fuels and utilities	245.023	246.840	248.051	10.1	1.2	0.5
Household energy	199.715	201.594	202.624	12.3	1.5	0.5
Energy services(1)	206.985	208.871	209.796	11.5	1.4	0.4
Electricity(1)	215.066	217.039	215.281	1.3	0.1	-0.8
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	180.551	182.176	187.286	36.6	3.7	2.8
Household furnishings and operations	122.603	123.950	125.239	6.4	2.2	1.0
Apparel	110.380	109.230	109.793	2.3	-0.5	0.5
Transportation	230.315	233.423	232.393	17.3	0.9	-0.4
Private transportation	227.777	231.799	231.550	18.2	1.7	-0.1
New and used motor vehicles(3)	116.619	118.797	118.732	16.8	1.8	-0.1
New vehicles	145.884	150.440	152.843	9.4	4.8	1.6
New cars and trucks(3)(4)	103.129	106.340	108.037	9.4	4.8	1.6
New cars(4)	143.119	146.908	149.986	8.2	4.8	2.1
Used cars and trucks	198.907	200.603	197.797	32.4	-0.6	-1.4
Motor fuel	271.925	277.787	277.002	43.8	1.9	-0.3
Gasoline (all types)	270.762	276.714	275.912	44.0	1.9	-0.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	264.197	270.038	269.193	44.9	1.9	-0.3
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	311.034	317.948	317.537	39.6	2.1	-0.1
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	290.072	296.018	295.868	34.9	2.0	-0.1
Motor vehicle insurance(6)	742.963	742.623	740.830	-0.7	-0.3	-0.2
Medical care	522.287	522.055	523.732	0.4	0.3	0.3
Medical care commodities	371.477	371.192	371.226	-4.8	-0.1	0.0
Medical care services	572.390	572.174	574.379	1.5	0.3	0.4
Professional services	435.596	436.969	439.047	2.2	0.8	0.5
Recreation(3)	126.562	126.935	126.790	3.9	0.2	-0.1
Education and communication(3)	141.600	141.853	141.308	0.1	-0.2	-0.4
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)	1,225.400	1,228.391	1,219.672	0.6	-0.5	-0.7
Other goods and services	452.794	455.936	458.956	3.4	1.4	0.7
Commodity and service group
Commodities	193.842	195.708	196.461	9.6	1.4	0.4
Commodities less food and beverages	160.097	161.904	162.393	13.0	1.4	0.3
Nondurables less food and beverages	201.313	202.874	203.475	11.8	1.1	0.3
Durables	117.217	118.962	119.329	14.2	1.8	0.3
Services	313.785	315.114	315.258	3.2	0.5	0.0
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	240.656	242.184	242.553	6.7	0.8	0.2
All items less medical care	240.316	242.039	242.452	6.3	0.9	0.2
Commodities less food	163.363	165.148	165.614	12.4	1.4	0.3
Nondurables	231.485	233.165	234.142	7.6	1.1	0.4
Nondurables less food	204.580	206.088	206.618	10.9	1.0	0.3
Services less rent of shelter(2)	344.019	344.691	344.117	2.9	0.0	-0.2
Services less medical care services	294.475	295.934	295.913	3.4	0.5	0.0
Energy	232.432	236.105	236.320	26.9	1.7	0.1
All items less energy	258.372	259.835	260.336	4.2	0.8	0.2
All items less food and energy	258.368	259.762	260.080	4.2	0.7	0.1
(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.