Prices in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 1.0 percent in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.  Acting Regional Commissioner Julie Wilson noted that the indexes for food, energy, and all items less food and energy were all higher in May. Within the all items less food and energy category, prices rose over the month for shelter, household furnishings and operations, and apparel. (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 0.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.2 percent over the year. Food prices rose 4.3 percent. Energy prices fell 16.6 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 0.8 percent for the month of May.  Prices for food at home (groceries) rose 1.4 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) were unchanged for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 4.3 percent. Prices for food at home increased 6.7 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home increased 1.2 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 6.9 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (11.9 percent). Prices for electricity rose 4.4 percent, and prices for utility (piped) gas service increased 1.6 percent for the same period.   

Energy prices fell 16.6 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-31.8 percent). Prices paid for electricity advanced 5.3 percent, while prices for utility (piped) gas service declined 2.1 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.6 percent in May. Higher prices for shelter (0.8 percent), household furnishings and operations (1.9 percent), and apparel (1.5 percent) contributed to the gain.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.2 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (1.9 percent) and medical care (6.6 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a decrease in the apparel index (-8.7 percent).

Table A. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI, CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2016		2017		2018		2019		2020
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.8	0.9	0.7	1.8	0.8	1.8	0.6	0.8	0.9	2.6
February	-0.2	0.7	0.1	2.2	0.0	1.6	0.6	1.4	0.0	2.0
March	0.1	0.2	-0.1	2.0	0.0	1.8	0.1	1.5	-0.7	1.1
April	0.6	0.7	0.4	1.7	0.7	2.1	-0.1	0.8	-0.9	0.3
May	0.0	0.3	0.2	1.8	0.4	2.3	0.8	1.2	1.0	0.4
June	0.5	0.7	0.0	1.3	-0.2	2.2	-0.4	1.0
July	-0.8	-0.1	0.0	2.2	-0.3	1.9	0.3	1.6
August	0.2	-0.2	0.3	2.3	0.1	1.7	0.2	1.6
September	0.6	0.6	0.4	2.1	0.4	1.6	0.2	1.4
October	0.1	0.8	-0.4	1.6	0.0	2.0	0.3	1.8
November	0.2	1.5	0.4	1.8	-0.6	1.0	-0.2	2.2
December	-0.2	1.9	-0.4	1.7	-0.3	1.1	-0.2	2.2

The June 2020 Consumer Price Index for Chicago is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, July 14, 2020.

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 population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 29 percent of the total 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 5,000 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 (1982-84) that equals 100.0. An increase of 16.5 percent, for example, is shown as 116.5. This change can also be expressed in dollars as follows: the price of a base period "market basket" of goods and services in the CPI has risen from $10 in 1982-84 to $11.65. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch17.pdf.

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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI, Core Based Statistical Area covered in this release is comprised of Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties in Illinois; Jasper, Lake, Newton, and Porter Counties in Indiana; and Kenosha County in Wisconsin.

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