Prices in the Midwest Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), declined 0.2 percent in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The index for energy decreased by 3.7 percent in November, mainly due to a decline in the cost for gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.1 percent, while the food index rose 0.2 percent over the month. Within the all items less food and energy index, prices for owners’ equivalent rent of residences contributed most to the rise. (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 6.8 percent. (See chart 1.) The index for all items less food and energy advanced 5.5 percent over the year. Food prices rose 11.7 percent compared to their November 2021 levels. Energy prices were up 11.0 percent, led by an increase in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.2 percent for the month of November. Prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) advanced 0.5 percent, while prices for food at home were up 0.1 percent over the month. Within the food at home category, increases in the indexes for fruits and vegetables (+1.3 percent) and cereals and bakery products (+1.6 percent) were mostly offset by index decreases in other food at home (-0.8 percent) and meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (-0.8 percent).

Over the year, food prices increased 11.7 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 13.3 percent since a year ago, with all six major grocery store indexes contributing to the rise. The index for other food at home (sugar, sweets, fats, and oils for example) contributed most to the over-the-year increase (+15.0 percent). Prices for food away from home rose 9.1 percent since November 2021.

Energy

The energy index decreased 3.7 percent over the month. The decrease was primarily driven by lower prices for gasoline (-4.6 percent), but natural gas service (-5.3 percent) and electricity (-1.5 percent) also contributed.

From November 2021 to November 2022, energy prices increased 11.0 percent, mainly due to rising prices for gasoline (+12.2 percent), but all energy categories contributed to the increase. Prices paid for natural gas service increased 12.0 percent, and electricity costs advanced 7.8 percent over the year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.1 percent in November. Items increasing included the indexes for owners' equivalent rent of residence (+0.7 percent), education and communication (+0.8 percent), and rent of primary residence (+0.7 percent). These advances were almost entirely offset by declines in the indexes for used cars and trucks (-2.9 percent), apparel (-2.9 percent), and household furnishings and operations (-0.9 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 5.5 percent. The largest component contributing to the increase was owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+5.9 percent), which saw the largest over the year increase since November of 1990. Also contributing to the over-the-year rise were the indexes for recreation (+7.4 percent), medical care services (+4.9 percent), and household furnishings and operations (+7.5 percent). Since November 2021, prices paid for used cars and trucks have declined 3.5 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	1.5	8.8
June	0.2	2.5	0.0	1.2	0.8	0.4	1.0	5.8	1.6	9.5
July	0.0	2.4	0.2	1.5	0.5	0.7	0.6	5.9	-0.2	8.6
August	0.0	2.1	0.0	1.5	0.4	1.1	0.2	5.7	-0.2	8.1
September	0.1	1.9	0.0	1.4	0.2	1.3	0.2	5.7	0.2	8.1
October	0.1	2.2	0.2	1.5	-0.1	1.0	0.8	6.6	0.1	7.4
November	-0.6	1.4	-0.2	1.9	-0.2	1.0	0.4	7.3	-0.2	6.8
December	-0.4	1.3	0.0	2.3	0.1	1.1	0.3	7.5

The December 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest Region is scheduled to be released on Thursday, January 12, 2023.

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
	Sep. 2022	Oct. 2022	Nov. 2022	Nov. 2021	Sep. 2022	Oct. 2022
All items	276.549	276.908	276.436	6.8	0.0	-0.2
All items (December 1977 = 100)	449.961	450.545	449.777
Food and beverages	300.921	302.322	303.124	11.3	0.7	0.3
Food	302.844	304.053	304.679	11.7	0.6	0.2
Food at home	281.284	282.059	282.201	13.3	0.3	0.1
Cereals and bakery products	322.665	321.565	326.675	18.0	1.2	1.6
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	312.064	313.539	311.139	7.7	-0.3	-0.8
Dairy and related products	246.330	248.389	248.426	15.9	0.9	0.0
Fruits and vegetables	318.119	314.310	318.502	11.5	0.1	1.3
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	203.468	202.987	203.323	14.8	-0.1	0.2
Other food at home	245.776	248.919	246.936	15.0	0.5	-0.8
Food away from home	336.646	338.681	340.248	9.1	1.1	0.5
Alcoholic beverages	274.172	278.109	281.258	6.6	2.6	1.1
Housing	269.309	268.641	268.715	6.1	-0.2	0.0
Shelter	313.166	315.262	317.131	5.5	1.3	0.6
Rent of primary residence(1)	316.631	319.052	321.247	6.6	1.5	0.7
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)(2)	320.041	322.420	324.528	5.9	1.4	0.7
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)(2)	319.936	322.317	324.430	5.9	1.4	0.7
Fuels and utilities	292.505	279.343	272.977	8.6	-6.7	-2.3
Household energy	245.660	232.365	225.658	9.5	-8.1	-2.9
Energy services(1)	253.786	239.548	232.139	9.5	-8.5	-3.1
Electricity(1)	233.983	224.779	221.436	7.8	-5.4	-1.5
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	267.194	246.360	233.365	12.0	-12.7	-5.3
Household furnishings and operations	138.482	139.041	137.790	7.5	-0.5	-0.9
Apparel	119.482	118.272	114.852	2.7	-3.9	-2.9
Transportation	258.416	260.375	257.439	8.2	-0.4	-1.1
Private transportation	255.964	258.154	254.925	7.5	-0.4	-1.3
New and used motor vehicles(3)	128.052	127.246	126.043	4.2	-1.6	-0.9
New vehicles	167.675	168.730	169.169	7.9	0.9	0.3
New cars and trucks(3)(4)
New cars(4)	164.744	165.550	165.426	7.3	0.4	-0.1
Used cars and trucks	203.195	198.594	192.881	-3.5	-5.1	-2.9
Motor fuel	333.336	346.406	330.927	12.8	-0.7	-4.5
Gasoline (all types)	330.352	343.362	327.613	12.2	-0.8	-4.6
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	322.309	335.143	319.463	12.1	-0.9	-4.7
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	381.023	394.966	379.080	13.3	-0.5	-4.0
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	353.979	366.184	353.248	14.0	-0.2	-3.5
Medical care	550.779	548.934	548.459	4.6	-0.4	-0.1
Medical care commodities	379.831	380.431	381.017	3.1	0.3	0.2
Medical care services	607.470	604.819	603.994	4.9	-0.6	-0.1
Professional services	453.126	454.035	456.749	4.4	0.8	0.6
Recreation(3)	134.222	136.241	136.504	7.4	1.7	0.2
Education and communication(3)	141.486	140.989	142.104	0.1	0.4	0.8
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)	1,262.347	1,263.182	1,265.613	3.2	0.3	0.2
Other goods and services	494.655	495.642	500.211	7.5	1.1	0.9
Commodity and service group
Commodities	216.381	217.441	215.557	7.3	-0.4	-0.9
Commodities less food and beverages	176.259	177.147	174.497	5.1	-1.0	-1.5
Nondurables less food and beverages	227.508	230.235	225.747	8.2	-0.8	-1.9
Durables	126.411	126.249	124.888	2.6	-1.2	-1.1
Services	337.865	337.434	338.550	6.4	0.2	0.3
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	265.903	265.668	264.386	7.3	-0.6	-0.5
All items less medical care	263.642	264.115	263.641	7.0	0.0	-0.2
Commodities less food	179.459	180.420	177.885	5.1	-0.9	-1.4
Nondurables	263.447	265.564	263.545	9.9	0.0	-0.8
Nondurables less food	229.800	232.593	228.556	8.1	-0.5	-1.7
Services less rent of shelter(2)	374.245	370.880	371.146	7.2	-0.8	0.1
Services less medical care services	317.802	317.552	318.835	6.7	0.3	0.4
Energy	285.462	283.218	272.717	11.0	-4.5	-3.7
All items less energy	279.303	280.112	280.546	6.4	0.4	0.2
All items less food and energy	276.126	276.873	277.276	5.5	0.4	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.