Midwest Information Office

Internet: www.bls.gov/ro5/	FOR RELEASE:
GENERAL INFORMATION: (312) 353-1880	7:30 A.M. CT
MEDIA CONTACT: Paul LaPorte	Wednesday, June 17, 2009
(312) 353-1138

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX CHICAGO-GARY-KENOSHA, IL-IN-WI CMSA MAY 2009

Consumer prices in the Chicago area rose 0.9 percent in May, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.  The Chicago-Gary-Kenosha Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for May was 209.809 (1982-84=100).  Over the past 12 months, Chicago area retail prices were down 2.4 percent.  During the previous 12-month period, consumer prices rose 4.5 percent.

Jay A. Mousa, regional commissioner for the Bureau in Chicago, stated that increases in the components for transportation and medical care were responsible for most of the latest monthly gain in the Chicago area all items index.  The components for housing, food and beverages, and education and communication also rose, but with less impact. Three components were lower over the month—apparel, recreation, and other goods and services; only partially offsetting the gains.  Most of the over-the-year decline in the Chicago area all items index was due to decreases in the energy related categories of utility (piped) gas service and gasoline.

The food and beverages component increased 0.3 percent in May.  The food at home index (groceries) rose 0.3 percent while the food away from home index was unchanged from April to May. Alcoholic beverage prices were up 1.4 percent in May.  Over the year, food and beverage prices were up 2.3 percent.  Grocery prices increased 0.4 percent for the year while prices for food eaten away from home were higher by 4.5 percent.  Prices for alcoholic beverages increased 3.1 percent over the year.  In the previous annual period ended in May 2008, overall food and beverage costs rose 5.5 percent with grocery prices advancing 6.0 percent and food away from home prices rising 4.8 percent.

The housing component was up 0.4 percent in May.  The shelter index was up 0.3 percent and the index for utility (piped) gas service was higher by 5.7 percent from April to May.  The electricity index was down 1.1 percent in May. Household furnishings and operations, another category in the housing component, was down 0.2 percent from April to May.  On an annual basis, the Chicago area housing component was down 3.6 percent, compared to the 3.9 percent increase in the previous 12-month period ended in May 2008. From May 2008 to 2009, the utility (piped) gas service index in the Chicago area was down 51.3 percent, turning around the 31.5 percent annual increase posted last May.

The apparel component was down 1.0 percent in May leaving the component 2.4 percent higher compared to last May.  In the previous 12-month period ended in May 2008, apparel prices were down 6.3 percent.

The transportation component rose 3.7 percent from April to May due to a 14.7 percent increase in the cost of gasoline.  Over the year, gasoline prices were down 36.9 percent, leaving overall transportation costs 14.2 percent below their year ago May levels.

The medical care component rose 4.6 percent from April to May.  Compared to last May, costs for medical care in the Chicago area were up 7.7 percent.  During the May 2007-May 2008 period, medical care costs rose 5.5 percent.

Recreation costs, which include items such as pets, sporting goods, and admissions, declined 0.3 percent from their April level.  On an annual basis, recreation costs were nearly unchanged, falling 0.1 percent.

The education and communication component, which includes items such as tuitions and telephone services, edged up 0.2 percent over the month and was up 4.3 percent compared with last May.  During the previous 12-month period, education and communication prices in the Chicago area rose by a similar amount, 4.4 percent.

The other goods and services component, which includes items such as tobacco, dry cleaning services, and cosmetics fell 0.8 percent in May.  On an annual basis the component rose 6.2 percent.  This follows an increase of 3.3 percent during the previous 12-month period.

 

   

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Scheduled release date for the June 2009 CPI: Wednesday, July 15, 2009

CPI HOTLINE SERVICE PROVIDES LATEST INDEXES 24 HOURS A DAY

The all items CPI-U and CPI-W for the U.S. City Average, the Midwest region, and the Chicago area are available to the public 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through the Bureau's CPI Hotline service. This recorded message also provides percent changes from the prior period and from a year earlier, as well as the scheduled release date for the next CPI issuance. The Hotline number in Chicago is (312) 353-1880, menu option 2.

BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE CPI

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 87 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 32 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. Prices are collected in 87 urban areas across the country from about 50,000 housing units and approximately 23,000 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. Prices of food, fuels, and a few other items are obtained every month in all 87 locations. Prices of most other commodities and services are collected every month in the three largest geographic areas and every other month in other areas. Prices of most goods and services are obtained by personal visits of the Bureau's trained representatives.

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. Separate indexes are also published by size of city, by region of the country, for cross-classifications of regions and population-size classes, and for 27 local areas. Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices among cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.

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/homch17_a.htm.

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Last Modified Date: June 17, 2009