Prices in the Midwest Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.9 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The food index rose 1.0 percent in February and the index for energy rose 4.2 percent. The all items less food and energy index increased 0.6 percent in February due to advances in the categories for shelter, apparel, and recreation. (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 8.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy rose 6.4 percent over the year. Energy prices advanced 24.4 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. Food prices increased 9.0 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 1.0 percent for the month of February. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home advanced 1.3 percent, and prices for food away from home increased 0.6 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 9.0 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 9.6 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home rose 7.7 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 4.2 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (+6.5 percent). Prices for natural gas service increased 2.0 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 1.5 percent for the same period.

Energy prices increased 24.4 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (+34.5 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service rose 31.5 percent, and prices for electricity increased 5.9 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.6 percent in February. Higher prices for shelter (+0.6 percent), apparel (+3.2 percent), and recreation (+1.0 percent) were the largest contributors to the increase.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 6.4 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (+4.8 percent), new and used motor vehicles (+24.6 percent), and household furnishings and operations (+10.9 percent).

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

Month	2018		2019		2020		2021		2022
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.6	1.6	0.2	0.8	0.4	2.5	0.5	1.2	0.8	7.9
February	0.2	1.7	0.7	1.3	0.3	2.1	0.8	1.7	0.9	8.0
March	0.2	1.8	0.6	1.7	-0.5	1.0	0.7	3.0
April	0.4	1.8	0.3	1.5	-1.1	-0.4	0.8	4.9
May	0.5	2.3	0.3	1.3	0.3	-0.4	1.0	5.6
June	0.2	2.5	0.0	1.2	0.8	0.4	1.0	5.8
July	0.0	2.4	0.2	1.5	0.5	0.7	0.6	5.9
August	0.0	2.1	0.0	1.5	0.4	1.1	0.2	5.7
September	0.1	1.9	0.0	1.4	0.2	1.3	0.2	5.7
October	0.1	2.2	0.2	1.5	-0.1	1.0	0.8	6.6
November	-0.6	1.4	-0.2	1.9	-0.2	1.0	0.4	7.3
December	-0.4	1.3	0.0	2.3	0.1	1.1	0.3	7.5

The March 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest Region is scheduled to be released on Thursday, April 12, 2022.

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
	Dec. 2021	Jan. 2022	Feb. 2022	Feb. 2021	Dec. 2021	Jan. 2022
All items	259.609	261.657	263.988	8.0	1.7	0.9
All items (December 1977 = 100)	422.397	425.730	429.523
Food and beverages	273.898	276.579	279.214	8.4	1.9	1.0
Food	274.453	277.344	280.150	9.0	2.1	1.0
Food at home	250.622	255.381	258.599	9.6	3.2	1.3
Cereals and bakery products	280.192	284.106	287.445	7.5	2.6	1.2
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	289.510	291.358	294.524	14.9	1.7	1.1
Dairy and related products	213.581	218.356	221.062	5.3	3.5	1.2
Fruits and vegetables	290.090	297.794	305.051	10.7	5.2	2.4
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	179.750	183.907	185.041	7.1	2.9	0.6
Other food at home	214.591	219.725	221.920	8.7	3.4	1.0
Food away from home	313.604	312.702	314.608	7.7	0.3	0.6
Alcoholic beverages	265.448	265.339	265.677	1.2	0.1	0.1
Housing	253.832	254.763	256.445	6.4	1.0	0.7
Shelter	301.055	301.535	303.249	4.8	0.7	0.6
Rent of primary residence(1)	302.039	303.356	304.666	4.3	0.9	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)(2)	307.251	308.162	309.495	4.4	0.7	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)(2)	307.156	308.064	309.398	4.4	0.7	0.4
Fuels and utilities	251.445	252.086	255.934	11.9	1.8	1.5
Household energy	206.067	206.070	209.870	14.7	1.8	1.8
Energy services(1)	211.704	211.911	215.509	14.4	1.8	1.7
Electricity(1)	205.980	209.008	212.137	5.9	3.0	1.5
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	206.809	202.801	206.870	31.5	0.0	2.0
Household furnishings and operations	129.614	131.851	132.313	10.9	2.1	0.4
Apparel	110.516	114.139	117.739	3.9	6.5	3.2
Transportation	238.179	240.942	244.866	21.2	2.8	1.6
Private transportation	237.489	240.330	244.143	21.8	2.8	1.6
New and used motor vehicles(3)	123.421	125.058	125.110	24.6	1.4	0.0
New vehicles	159.150	160.448	160.118	13.4	0.6	-0.2
New cars and trucks(3)(4)	112.491	113.414	113.179	13.4	0.6	-0.2
New cars(4)		157.140
Used cars and trucks	207.038	210.187	211.940	41.5	2.4	0.8
Motor fuel	282.043	282.651	301.079	34.5	6.7	6.5
Gasoline (all types)	280.384	280.991	299.352	34.5	6.8	6.5
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	273.494	274.131	292.424	35.1	6.9	6.7
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	324.063	324.003	341.885	31.0	5.5	5.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	301.188	301.345	316.367	28.9	5.0	5.0
Motor vehicle insurance(6)	736.357
Medical care	527.708	531.401	531.165	1.0	0.7	0.0
Medical care commodities	370.093	371.027	375.083	-0.3	1.3	1.1
Medical care services	579.994	584.598	582.950	1.3	0.5	-0.3
Professional services	439.930	439.930	440.364	0.1	0.1	0.1
Recreation(3)	128.253	129.701	130.952	4.2	2.1	1.0
Education and communication(3)	141.707	142.020	142.631	1.0	0.7	0.4
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)	1,224.927	1,225.720	1,226.805	0.6	0.2	0.1
Other goods and services	465.205	473.538	477.090	6.7	2.6	0.8
Commodity and service group
Commodities	201.727	204.162	207.084	12.9	2.7	1.4
Commodities less food and beverages	166.486	168.699	171.545	15.8	3.0	1.7
Nondurables less food and beverages	205.916	208.555	215.412	12.3	4.6	3.3
Durables	123.932	125.630	126.063	19.8	1.7	0.3
Services	318.732	320.305	321.926	4.7	1.0	0.5
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	247.181	249.783	252.343	9.3	2.1	1.0
All items less medical care	246.950	248.923	251.393	8.8	1.8	1.0
Commodities less food	169.653	171.827	174.633	15.1	2.9	1.6
Nondurables	239.169	241.843	246.748	10.2	3.2	2.0
Nondurables less food	208.995	211.470	217.936	11.4	4.3	3.1
Services less rent of shelter(2)	346.946	349.817	351.325	4.5	1.3	0.4
Services less medical care services	299.232	300.564	302.466	5.2	1.1	0.6
Energy	240.486	240.746	250.795	24.4	4.3	4.2
All items less energy	264.891	267.130	268.790	6.8	1.5	0.6
All items less food and energy	263.975	266.113	267.589	6.4	1.4	0.6
(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.