Prices in the Midwest Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.6 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The all items less food and energy index rose 0.5 percent in April, led by an increase in the index for used cars and trucks. An increase in the energy index (+2.3 percent) was driven by rising gasoline prices. Food prices were up 0.1 percent.  (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 advanced 4.9 percent. (See chart 1.) The index for all items less food and energy rose 5.5 percent over the year, while food prices increased 7.5 percent. Energy prices declined by 4.4 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Midwest region, April 2020–April 2023

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Apr 2020	-0.4	1.2
May 2020	-0.4	0.8
Jun 2020	0.4	1.2
Jul 2020	0.7	1.6
Aug 2020	1.1	1.9
Sep 2020	1.3	1.9
Oct 2020	1.0	1.6
Nov 2020	1.0	1.6
Dec 2020	1.1	1.6
Jan 2021	1.2	1.2
Feb 2021	1.7	1.3
Mar 2021	3.0	1.8
Apr 2021	4.9	3.3
May 2021	5.6	4.3
Jun 2021	5.8	4.6
Jul 2021	5.9	4.6
Aug 2021	5.7	4.2
Sep 2021	5.7	4.0
Oct 2021	6.6	4.6
Nov 2021	7.3	5.0
Dec 2021	7.5	5.7
Jan 2022	7.9	6.4
Feb 2022	8.0	6.4
Mar 2022	8.6	6.4
Apr 2022	8.2	6.0
May 2022	8.8	5.9
Jun 2022	9.5	5.7
Jul 2022	8.6	5.4
Aug 2022	8.1	5.8
Sep 2022	8.1	6.2
Oct 2022	7.4	5.8
Nov 2022	6.8	5.5
Dec 2022	6.0	5.2
Jan 2023	6.0	4.9
Feb 2023	5.6	5.0
Mar 2023	4.9	5.4
Apr 2023	4.9	5.5

Food prices increased 0.1 percent for the month of April. Prices for food at home rose 0.2 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) fell 0.1 percent for the same period. Within the food at home category, prices paid for fruits and vegetables (+0.9 percent) contributed the most to the over-the-month increase. A decrease in the index for cereals and bakery products (-0.5 percent) somewhat offset the increase.

Over the year, food prices rose 7.5 percent. Prices for food at home increased 7.3 percent since a year ago, with all six major grocery store food group indexes contributing to the rise. The other food at home index (which includes sugar, sweets, fats, and oils) contributed the most to the annual increase at 11.0 percent, followed by cereals and bakery products (+12.5 percent). Prices for food away from home increased 7.9 percent over the same period.

The energy index increased 2.3 percent over the month. The increase was entirely due to higher prices for gasoline (+8.0 percent). Somewhat offsetting the increase were prices paid for natural gas service (-6.8 percent) and electricity (-0.9 percent).

From April 2022 to April 2023, energy prices decreased 4.4 percent, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-8.3 percent), but natural gas service (-10.4 percent) also contributed to the decline. Partially offsetting the 12-month decline were prices paid for electricity, which rose by 8.2 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.5 percent in April. Higher prices for used cars and trucks (+4.7 percent), owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+0.4 percent) and recreation (+1.4 percent) were the largest contributors to the increase. Lower prices for medical care services (-0.6 percent) and apparel (-1.1 percent) partially offset the increase.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 5.5 percent. Components most contributing to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+7.0 percent), recreation (+6.9 percent), and rent of primary residence (+7.3 percent). A decline in the index for used cars and trucks of 6.1 percent partly offset the rise.

The May 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest Region is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, June 13, 2023.

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.

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