CSA Canadian Securities Administrators : Consumer Price Index, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin — December 2019

News Release Information

20-23-CHI
Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Local prices up 2.2 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area decreased 0.2 percent in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that the index for all items less food and energy was down 0.2 percent, while the energy index and the food index decreased 0.8 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, over the month. Within the all items less food and energy category, prices were lower over the month for apparel and other goods and services. Prices were higher for shelter and new and used motor vehicles. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the Chicago area all items CPI-U increased 2.2 percent. (See chart 1and table A.) Over the year, the all items less food and energy index rose 2.1 percent, while the energy and food indexes were up 5.1 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices fell 0.3 percent in December. Of the two components within the food index, prices for food at home (groceries) decreased 0.5 percent, while prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) were unchanged. Within the food at home group, indexes were lower in December for candy and chewing gum and citrus fruits.

From December 2018 to December 2019, the food index increased 1.5 percent. Over the year, grocery prices rose 0.7 percent, and costs for food away from home were up 2.5 percent.

Energy

The energy index declined 0.8 percent in December. Among the index's components, prices were lower for gasoline (-1.4 percent) and utility (piped) gas service (-0.5 percent). Electricity costs were unchanged over the month.

Over the year, the Chicago area energy index rose 5.1 percent. From December 2018 to December 2019, gasoline prices were up 14.3 percent and the electricity index increased 2.5 percent. Utility (piped) gas service costs were 12.2 percent lower over the year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy was down 0.2 percent in December. Among the index's components, prices were lower over the month for apparel (-4.5 percent) and other goods and services (-1.0 percent). Prices were higher for shelter (0.2 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (0.4 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.1 percent. Contributing factors were increases in the indexes for shelter (2.7 percent), medical care (4.0 percent), and recreation (4.5 percent).

Month	2015		2016		2017		2018		2019
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	-0.2	0.4	0.8	0.9	0.7	1.8	0.8	1.8	0.6	0.8
February	0.0	-0.2	-0.2	0.7	0.1	2.2	0.0	1.6	0.6	1.4
March	0.7	-0.6	0.1	0.2	-0.1	2.0	0.0	1.8	0.1	1.5
April	0.1	-0.9	0.6	0.7	0.4	1.7	0.7	2.1	-0.1	0.8
May	0.3	-0.5	0.0	0.3	0.2	1.8	0.4	2.3	0.8	1.2
June	0.2	-0.7	0.5	0.7	0.0	1.3	-0.2	2.2	-0.4	1.0
July	-0.1	-0.5	-0.8	-0.1	0.0	2.2	-0.3	1.9	0.3	1.6
August	0.4	-0.1	0.2	-0.2	0.3	2.3	0.1	1.7	0.2	1.6
September	-0.3	-0.4	0.6	0.6	0.4	2.1	0.4	1.6	0.2	1.4
October	-0.1	-0.2	0.1	0.8	-0.4	1.6	0.0	2.0	0.3	1.8
November	-0.4	0.2	0.2	1.5	0.4	1.8	-0.6	1.0	-0.2	2.2
December	-0.6	0.0	-0.2	1.9	-0.4	1.7	-0.3	1.1	-0.2	2.2

The January 2020 Consumer Price Index for Chicago is scheduled to be released on Thursday, February 13, 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 approximately 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.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: [phone]; Federal Relay Service: [phone].

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Oct. 2019	Nov. 2019	Dec. 2019	Dec. 2018	Oct. 2019	Nov. 2019
Expenditure category
All items	243.236	242.661	242.079	2.2	-0.5	-0.2
All items (1967=100)	726.689	724.971	723.231	-	-	-
Food and beverages	254.591	253.866	253.181	1.4	-0.6	-0.3
Food	254.228	253.398	252.756	1.5	-0.6	-0.3
Food at home	238.017	236.422	235.284	0.7	-1.1	-0.5
Cereals and bakery products	268.304	264.576	263.842	1.6	-1.7	-0.3
Meats, poultry, fish and eggs	253.620	249.628	255.223	2.1	0.6	2.2
Dairy and related products	211.417	214.825	215.887	3.6	2.1	0.5
Fruits and vegetables	318.276	310.262	303.330	-2.6	-4.7	-2.2
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	193.406	191.853	192.913	2.2	-0.3	0.6
Other food at home	189.463	191.433	187.435	0.0	-1.1	-2.1
Food away from home	271.474	271.631	271.631	2.5	0.1	0.0
Alcoholic beverages	257.690	258.646	257.280	-1.1	-0.2	-0.5
Housing	254.575	254.463	254.717	1.8	0.1	0.1
Shelter	323.521	323.795	324.498	2.7	0.3	0.2
Rent of primary residence	342.926	343.813	345.458	2.7	0.7	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of residences	331.363	331.919	333.408	2.9	0.6	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence	331.363	331.919	333.408	2.9	0.6	0.4
Fuels and utilities	208.189	205.519	205.019	-1.7	-1.5	-0.2
Household energy	160.985	157.713	157.354	-3.7	-2.3	-0.2
Energy services	164.145	160.732	160.452	-3.7	-2.2	-0.2
Electricity	168.224	161.761	161.795	2.5	-3.8	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service	144.752	146.011	145.303	-12.2	0.4	-0.5
Household furnishings and operations	89.177	89.314	88.791	-1.6	-0.4	-0.6
Apparel	90.521	87.005	83.120	2.4	-8.2	-4.5
Transportation	186.238	185.390	183.736	3.0	-1.3	-0.9
Private transportation	183.049	182.213	181.875	3.9	-0.6	-0.2
New and used motor vehicles	94.954	95.540	95.953	0.5	1.1	0.4
New vehicles	170.791	173.304	174.883	1.4	2.4	0.9
Used cars and trucks	266.164	263.534	262.771	-0.3	-1.3	-0.3
Motor fuel	241.486	236.368	233.130	14.2	-3.5	-1.4
Gasoline (all types)	238.971	233.859	230.624	14.3	-3.5	-1.4
Gasoline, unleaded regular	229.953	224.959	221.800	14.5	-3.5	-1.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade	265.299	260.304	256.058	12.7	-3.5	-1.6
Gasoline, unleaded premium	264.087	259.097	256.586	12.2	-2.8	-1.0
Motor vehicle insurance	553.612	547.509	547.509	-1.2	-1.1	0.0
Medical care	536.308	525.046	526.094	4.0	-1.9	0.2
Recreation	112.668	116.093	116.495	4.5	3.4	0.3
Education and communication	141.584	142.240	142.568	0.6	0.7	0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare	1,204.640	1,204.579	1,205.734	2.6	0.1	0.1
Other goods and services	407.960	406.353	402.228	2.4	-1.4	-1.0
Commodity and service group
All items	243.236	242.661	242.079	2.2	-0.5	-0.2
Commodities	169.224	168.199	167.145	2.0	-1.2	-0.6
Commodities less food and beverages	126.989	125.945	124.851	2.4	-1.7	-0.9
Nondurables less food and beverages	174.921	171.035	168.669	4.7	-3.6	-1.4
Durables	83.956	84.951	84.821	-0.6	1.0	-0.2
Services	313.643	313.519	313.407	2.4	-0.1	0.0
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	230.637	230.531	229.876	2.1	-0.3	-0.3
All items less shelter	216.073	215.200	214.166	2.0	-0.9	-0.5
Commodities less food	131.567	130.546	129.430	2.3	-1.6	-0.9
Nondurables	215.235	212.677	211.009	2.9	-2.0	-0.8
Nondurables less food	180.459	176.749	174.403	4.3	-3.4	-1.3
Services less rent of shelter	319.014	318.473	317.475	1.9	-0.5	-0.3
Services less medical care services	296.774	297.505	297.246	1.9	0.2	-0.1
Energy	192.273	188.275	186.689	5.1	-2.9	-0.8
All items less energy	250.072	249.816	249.323	2.0	-0.3	-0.2
All items less food and energy	250.198	250.035	249.565	2.1	-0.3	-0.2
- Data not available. Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.