Prices in the Midwest Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.5 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The food index rose 1.3 percent in April and the index for energy was unchanged. The all items less food and energy index increased 0.4 percent in April due to advances in the categories for public transportation, shelter, and new vehicles. (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 8.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 6.0 percent over the year. Energy prices rose 26.8 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. Food prices were up 11.2 percent compared to April 2021. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 1.3 percent for the month of April. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home advanced 1.5 percent, and prices for food away from home rose 1.1 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices were higher by 11.2 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 12.3 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home cost 9.3 percent more.

Energy

The energy index was unchanged over the month. A 1.3 percent decline in gasoline prices offset increases of 3.1 percent in the index for natural gas service and 0.5 percent in the index for electricity.

Energy prices increased 26.8 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (+39.6 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service rose 24.1 percent, and prices for electricity increased 6.4 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.4 percent in April. Higher prices for public transportation, shelter (+0.2 percent), and new vehicles (+1.0 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-0.6 percent) and apparel (-0.7 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 6.0 percent. Components contributing to the increase included new and used motor vehicles (+18.4 percent), shelter (+4.9 percent), and household furnishings and operations (+10.8 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	1.3	8.6
April	0.4	1.8	0.3	1.5	-1.1	-0.4	0.8	4.9	0.5	8.2
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 May 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest Region is scheduled to be released on June 10, 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; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

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. 2022	Mar. 2022	Apr. 2022	Apr. 2021	Feb. 2022	Mar. 2022
All items	263.988	267.312	268.639	8.2	1.8	0.5
All items (December 1977 = 100)	429.523	434.932	437.090
Food and beverages	279.214	282.806	286.541	10.7	2.6	1.3
Food	280.150	283.955	287.716	11.2	2.7	1.3
Food at home	258.599	263.145	267.001	12.3	3.2	1.5
Cereals and bakery products	287.445	295.390	295.817	10.2	2.9	0.1
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	294.524	297.971	304.145	17.2	3.3	2.1
Dairy and related products	221.062	226.265	229.773	10.1	3.9	1.6
Fruits and vegetables	305.051	308.709	311.498	10.4	2.1	0.9
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	185.041	188.710	193.118	12.2	4.4	2.3
Other food at home	221.920	225.938	229.463	11.3	3.4	1.6
Food away from home	314.608	316.829	320.291	9.3	1.8	1.1
Alcoholic beverages	265.677	266.416	269.782	3.5	1.5	1.3
Housing	256.445	257.919	258.909	6.3	1.0	0.4
Shelter	303.249	305.136	305.815	4.9	0.8	0.2
Rent of primary residence(1)	304.666	306.249	307.494	4.8	0.9	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)(2)	309.495	311.127	312.010	4.6	0.8	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)(2)	309.398	311.032	311.918	4.6	0.8	0.3
Fuels and utilities	255.934	255.742	258.711	11.2	1.1	1.2
Household energy	209.870	209.458	212.464	13.7	1.2	1.4
Energy services(1)	215.509	214.235	217.557	12.5	1.0	1.6
Electricity(1)	212.137	211.991	213.120	6.4	0.5	0.5
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	206.870	203.997	210.375	24.1	1.7	3.1
Household furnishings and operations	132.313	133.561	134.321	10.8	1.5	0.6
Apparel	117.739	117.961	117.101	4.5	-0.5	-0.7
Transportation	244.866	255.194	256.638	19.4	4.8	0.6
Private transportation	244.143	254.075	254.332	19.5	4.2	0.1
New and used motor vehicles(3)	125.110	124.732	125.166	18.4	0.0	0.3
New vehicles	160.118	160.582	162.178	16.0	1.3	1.0
New cars and trucks(3)(4)	113.179	113.510
New cars(4)		157.143	159.136	16.1		1.3
Used cars and trucks	211.940	207.335	206.173	22.3	-2.7	-0.6
Motor fuel	301.079	359.560	355.170	40.0	18.0	-1.2
Gasoline (all types)	299.352	357.348	352.539	39.6	17.8	-1.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	292.424	349.752	344.759	40.1	17.9	-1.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	341.885	403.804	401.136	38.0	17.3	-0.7
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	316.367	369.407	367.783	34.2	16.3	-0.4
Medical care	531.165	534.114	535.170	2.2	0.8	0.2
Medical care commodities	375.083	376.595	375.652	0.2	0.2	-0.3
Medical care services	582.950	586.374	588.088	2.6	0.9	0.3
Professional services	440.364	441.545	441.379	1.7	0.2	0.0
Recreation(3)	130.952	131.349	132.268	4.6	1.0	0.7
Education and communication(3)	142.631	141.202	141.027	0.0	-1.1	-0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)	1,226.805	1,226.718	1,230.916	0.9	0.3	0.3
Other goods and services	477.090	479.494	481.370	6.0	0.9	0.4
Commodity and service group
Commodities	207.084	211.636	212.407	13.2	2.6	0.4
Commodities less food and beverages	171.545	176.146	175.906	14.7	2.5	-0.1
Nondurables less food and beverages	215.412	229.328	228.410	15.2	6.0	-0.4
Durables	126.063	125.337	125.472	15.0	-0.5	0.1
Services	321.926	323.807	325.726	4.9	1.2	0.6
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	252.343	256.186	257.744	9.7	2.1	0.6
All items less medical care	251.393	254.749	256.094	8.9	1.9	0.5
Commodities less food	174.633	179.173	179.013	14.2	2.5	-0.1
Nondurables	246.748	255.873	257.145	12.8	4.2	0.5
Nondurables less food	217.936	231.061	230.394	14.3	5.7	-0.3
Services less rent of shelter(2)	351.325	353.216	356.581	4.9	1.5	1.0
Services less medical care services	302.466	304.232	306.181	5.3	1.2	0.6
Energy	250.795	275.376	275.275	26.8	9.8	0.0
All items less energy	268.790	270.226	271.700	6.8	1.1	0.5
All items less food and energy	267.589	268.639	269.741	6.0	0.8	0.4
(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.