Internet: www.bls.gov/ro5/	FOR RELEASE:
GENERAL INFORMATION: (312) 353-1880	7:30 A.M. CT
MEDIA CONTACT: Paul LaPorte	Wednesday, November 19, 2008
(312) 353-1138

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Consumer Price Index Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI CMSA October 2008

The Chicago-Gary-Kenosha Consumer Price Index fell 1.0 percent in October, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.  Over the past year, retail prices in the Chicago area were up 3.2 percent.  In the previous annual period, October 2006-2007, retail prices in the Chicago area rose 4.7 percent.  The Chicago area all items Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) was 213.363 (1982‑84=100) in October 2008.

 
Regional Commissioner Jay A. Mousa stated that declines in the components for transportation and housing were responsible for the 1.0 percent drop in the Chicago area all items CPI-U.  The components for apparel and other goods and services decreased, but with little effect.  Partially offsetting these declines were increases in the medical care and education and communication components.  The food and beverages and recreation components experienced little change in October.

 
The transportation component fell 4.8 percent in October due to a 13.5 percent drop in gasoline prices.  This decline in gasoline prices follows a 1.0 percent decrease in September and a 5.6 percent drop in August.  Over the year, gasoline prices were up 19.3 percent in the Chicago area. Overall transportation costs were up 5.6 percent during the past 12 months as a result of the over-the-year increase in prices at the gasoline pumps.  In the previous 12-month period ended in October 2007, transportation costs rose 7.9 percent.

The housing component fell 0.9 percent in October.  Decreases in all three of the housing components main subcategories contributed to the decline:  the fuels ands utilities index declined 4.7 percent led by a 9.5 percent drop in the utility (piped) gas service index and a 1.0 percent drop in the electricity index, shelter costs were down 0.3 percent, and the index for household furnishings and operations declined 0.5 percent.  On annual basis, overall housing costs rose 1.6 percent after rising 4.5 percent over the previous 12-month period.  The utility (piped) gas service index was 22.8 percent higher compared with its October 2007 level and costs for electricity were up 8.2 percent from a year ago.  Costs for household furnishings and operations were up 2.3 percent. Shelter costs fell 0.4 percent over the year.

The component for apparel declined 0.4 percent in October.  Last October the apparel component was unchanged.  This pattern is consistent as apparel prices have remained unchanged or fallen in the previous seven September-October periods (2001-2007).  On an annual basis, the apparel component was up 1.9 percent.

The other goods and services component, which includes cigarettes and personal care products, fell 0.4 percent over the month.  For the year, this component was up 2.6 percent after rising 2.2 percent in the prior 12 months.

The education and communication component rose 0.6 percent in October.  Compared with a year ago the education and communication component was up 4.5 percent.  This annual increase was greater than the 3.7 and 3.2 percent increases reported for the 12-month periods ending in October 2007 and 2006, respectively.

The medical care component rose 2.6 percent from its September level and for the year, this component was up 3.3 percent.  Medical care costs rose 6.4 percent in the previous one-year period ended in October 2007.

Recreation costs were essentially unchanged over the month declining 0.1 percent.  Compared with a year ago, the recreation component was up 2.2 percent following a 1.3 percent increase in the previous annual period.

The food and beverages component was nearly unchanged in October, increasing 0.1 percent.  The food at home index (grocery foods) was unchanged over the month and the food away from home index edged up 0.2 percent.  Alcoholic beverage prices were nearly unchanged, up 0.1 percent.  Over the year, the food and beverages component gained 4.9 percent following a 5.2 percent increase in the previous annual period ended in October 2007.  The food at home index increased 4.2 percent over the year while the indexes for food away from home and alcoholic beverage posted annual gains of 5.9 percent and 5.0 percent, respectively..

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Scheduled release date for the November 2008 CPI: Tuesday, December 16, 2008

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: November 19, 2008