Prices in the Midwest Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), declined 0.5 percent in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The index for energy decreased by 7.2 percent in December, mainly due to falling prices for gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.1 percent, while the food index rose 0.3 percent over the month. Within the all items less food and energy index, prices for owners’ equivalent rent of residences contributed the most to the rise. (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 advanced 6.0 percent. (See chart 1.) The index for all items less food and energy advanced 5.2 percent, and food prices rose 11.4 percent compared to their December 2021 levels. Energy prices advanced 5.3 percent, partly the result of an increase in the price of natural gas service. (See table 1.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Midwest region, December 2019–December 2022

Month	All items	All items less food and energy
Dec 2019	2.3	2.0
Jan 2020	2.5	2.1
Feb 2020	2.1	2.2
Mar 2020	1.0	1.8
Apr 2020	-0.4	1.2
May 2020	-0.4	0.8
Jun 2020	0.4	1.2
Jul 2020	0.7	1.6
Aug 2020	1.1	1.9
Sep 2020	1.3	1.9
Oct 2020	1.0	1.6
Nov 2020	1.0	1.6
Dec 2020	1.1	1.6
Jan 2021	1.2	1.2
Feb 2021	1.7	1.3
Mar 2021	3.0	1.8
Apr 2021	4.9	3.3
May 2021	5.6	4.3
Jun 2021	5.8	4.6
Jul 2021	5.9	4.6
Aug 2021	5.7	4.2
Sep 2021	5.7	4.0
Oct 2021	6.6	4.6
Nov 2021	7.3	5.0
Dec 2021	7.5	5.7
Jan 2022	7.9	6.4
Feb 2022	8.0	6.4
Mar 2022	8.6	6.4
Apr 2022	8.2	6.0
May 2022	8.8	5.9
Jun 2022	9.5	5.7
Jul 2022	8.6	5.4
Aug 2022	8.1	5.8
Sep 2022	8.1	6.2
Oct 2022	7.4	5.8
Nov 2022	6.8	5.5
Dec 2022	6.0	5.2

Food prices increased 0.3 percent for the month of December. Prices for food at home (grocery store products) advanced 0.3 percent, while prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) also rose 0.3 percent over the month. Within the food at home category, increases in other food at home (+0.8 percent) contributed the most to the over-the-month increase.

Over the year, food prices advanced 11.4 percent. Prices for food at home rose 13.0 percent since a year ago, with all six major grocery store food group indexes contributing to the rise. The other food at home index (which includes sugar, sweets, fats, and oils) contributed the most to the rise at 16.0 percent. Prices for food away from home increased 8.8 percent over the same period.

The energy index decreased 7.2 percent over the month, almost entirely due to lower prices for gasoline (-15.9 percent). Somewhat offsetting the decline were increasing prices for natural gas service (+2.8 percent) and electricity (+1.5 percent).

From December 2021 to December 2022, energy prices advanced 5.3 percent, largely due to higher prices for natural gas service (+16.0 percent) and electricity (+9.1 percent). These increases were partially offset by lower prices for gasoline (-1.7 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.1 percent in December. Components which contributed most to the rise were owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+0.7 percent), rent of primary residence (+0.6 percent), and household furnishings and operations (+0.4 percent). These increases were almost entirely offset by declines in the indexes for used cars and trucks (-2.4 percent), apparel (-1.8 percent), public transportation, and medical care (-0.3 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose by 5.2 percent. Components contributing to the increase included owners’ equivalent rent of residences (+6.4 percent), rent of primary residences (+7.0 percent), and recreation (+6.8 percent). Partially offsetting the rise was a decrease in prices paid for used cars and trucks (-9.1 percent).

The January 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest Region is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, February 14, 2023.

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 U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. 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 6,000 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; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000.  Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods available on the internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/.

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 Midwest region is comprised of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

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