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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..



Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods
Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group

Indexes
Percent change from--
Aug.
2008
Sep.
2008
Oct.
2008
Oct.
2007
Aug.
2008
Sep.
2008

Expenditure category

 
 

All Items

215.971 215.465 213.363 3.2 -1.2 -1.0

All items (1967=100)

645.231 643.721 637.439      

Food and beverages

213.804 213.986 214.159 4.9 0.2 0.1

Food

212.877 213.230 213.409 4.9 0.2 0.1

Food at home

219.159 219.218 219.206 4.2 0.0 0.0

Food away from home

199.820 200.490 200.875 5.9 0.5 0.2

Alcoholic beverages

226.253 224.798 224.920 5.0 -0.6 0.1

Housing

220.573 219.013 217.026 1.6 -1.6 -0.9

Shelter

261.532 260.886 260.090 -0.4 -0.6 -0.3

Rent of primary residence (1)

264.592 266.148 266.778 2.6 0.8 0.2

Owners' equiv. rent (1) (2)

259.853 260.431 261.355 -0.3 0.6 0.4

Fuels and utilities

217.640 207.643 197.806 14.2 -9.1 -4.7

Household energy

204.059 193.287 182.764 14.8 -10.4 -5.4

Gas (piped) and electricity (1)

208.008 196.944 186.466 14.8 -10.4 -5.3

Electricity (1)

140.745 148.109 146.618 8.2 4.2 -1.0

Utility (piped) gas service (1)

297.343 256.868 232.592 22.8 -21.8 -9.5

Household furnishings and operations

108.004 109.093 108.590 2.3 0.5 -0.5

Apparel

90.727 96.386 96.007 1.9 5.8 -0.4

Transportation

199.734 195.756 186.329 5.6 -6.7 -4.8

Private transportation

196.319 193.306 183.473 5.7 -6.5 -5.1

Motor fuel

349.724 346.009 299.679 19.3 -14.3 -13.4

Gasoline (all types)

346.872 343.403 297.063 19.3 -14.4 -13.5

Unleaded regular (3)

343.683 339.927 293.880 19.6 -14.5 -13.5

Unleaded midgrade (3) (4)

359.118 356.145 306.969 18.2 -14.5 -13.8

Unleaded premium (3)

325.395 323.051 281.895 18.7 -13.4 -12.7

Medical Care

360.271 362.601 371.944 3.3 3.2 2.6

Recreation (5)

112.584 112.573 112.426 2.2 -0.1 -0.1

Education and communication (5)

132.553 133.962 134.786 4.5 1.7 0.6

Other goods and services

333.600 334.518 333.209 2.6 -0.1 -0.4
 

Commodity and Service Group

 
 

All Items

215.971 215.465 213.363 3.2 -1.2 -1.0

Commodities

170.478 170.699 167.421 4.3 -1.8 -1.9

Commodities less food & beverages

146.084 146.316 141.559 3.7 -3.1 -3.3

Nondurables less food & beverages

193.009 195.223 185.429 8.0 -3.9 -5.0

Durables

100.777 99.163 99.145 -3.0 -1.6 0.0

Services

258.616 257.353 256.556 2.5 -0.8 -0.3
 

Special aggregate indexes:

 
 

All items less medical care

209.374 208.769 206.264 3.2 -1.5 -1.2

All items less shelter

200.924 200.466 197.892 5.0 -1.5 -1.3

Commodities less food

149.217 149.379 144.828 3.8 -2.9 -3.0

Nondurables

205.104 206.347 201.327 6.4 -1.8 -2.4

Nondurables less food

195.139 197.049 188.088 7.7 -3.6 -4.5

Services less rent of shelter (2)

268.979 266.936 266.038 6.1 -1.1 -0.3

Services less medical care services

250.534 249.008 247.535 2.4 -1.2 -0.6

Energy

259.359 251.624 226.822 17.0 -12.5 -9.9

All items less energy

213.044 213.265 213.442 1.9 0.2 0.1

All items less food and energy

213.809 214.005 214.181 1.3 0.2 0.1

Footnotes
(1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator.
(2) Index is on a December 1982=100 base.
(3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
(5) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
- Data not available.

NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.

 ###

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.


 

Last Modified Date: November 19, 2008