Prices in the Los Angeles area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), were unchanged in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden noted that the index was influenced by lower prices for gasoline and higher prices for housing. (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 1.7 percent. (See chart 1.) Energy prices declined 1.7 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.8 percent since September 2013.

Food

Food prices increased 0.2 percent for the month of September. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home advanced 0.3 percent, while prices for food away from home were unchanged for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 2.8 percent. Prices for food away from home advanced 3.2 percent since a year ago, and prices for food at home increased 2.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 1.8 percent over the month. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-2.9 percent). Prices for natural gas service declined 0.4 percent, but prices for electricity advanced 0.6 percent in September.

Energy prices declined 1.7 percent over the year mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-5.9 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service jumped 11.2 percent, and prices for electricity rose 5.7 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy moved up 0.2 percent in September. Higher prices for recreation (1.0 percent), apparel (1.0 percent), and shelter (0.3 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-1.0 percent) and education and communication (-0.3 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.8 percent. Components contributing to the increase included apparel (6.1 percent) and shelter (2.6 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decline in household furnishings and operations (-2.7 percent).

The October 2014 Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County is scheduled to be released on November 20, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. (PDT).

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 88 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 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 87 urban areas across the country from about 4,000 housing units and approximately 26,000 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/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 Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura Counties in the State of California.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods

Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Jul. 2014	Aug. 2014	Sep. 2014	Sep. 2013	Jul. 2014	Aug. 2014
Expenditure category
All items	243.727	243.556	243.623	1.7	0.0	0.0
All items (1967=100)	720.079	719.571	719.770	-	-	-
Food and beverages	244.803	246.073	246.471	2.7	0.7	0.2
Food	245.186	246.262	246.723	2.8	0.6	0.2
Food at home	255.760	256.413	257.152	2.6	0.5	0.3
Food away from home	228.304	229.902	230.004	3.2	0.7	0.0
Alcoholic beverages	225.451	228.998	228.601	1.1	1.4	-0.2
Housing	261.284	261.111	261.662	2.5	0.1	0.2
Shelter	292.819	293.381	294.404	2.6	0.5	0.3
Rent of primary residence (1)	305.944	306.431	306.995	2.7	0.3	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of residences (1) (2)	304.887	305.754	306.389	2.3	0.5	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence (1) (2)	304.888	305.757	306.388	2.3	0.5	0.2
Fuels and utilities	305.530	301.695	302.470	7.7	-1.0	0.3
Household energy	276.667	271.463	272.266	7.1	-1.6	0.3
Energy services (1)	275.210	270.059	270.797	7.1	-1.6	0.3
Electricity (1)	303.839	303.839	305.582	5.7	0.6	0.6
Utility (piped) gas service (1)	249.824	234.814	233.799	11.2	-6.4	-0.4
Household furnishings and operations	117.689	116.493	115.350	-2.7	-2.0	-1.0
Apparel	109.597	115.164	116.373	6.1	6.2	1.0
Transportation	215.042	210.909	208.643	-1.8	-3.0	-1.1
Private transportation	210.282	206.186	203.411	-1.7	-3.3	-1.3
Motor fuel	316.382	300.708	291.985	-5.8	-7.7	-2.9
Gasoline (all types)	309.563	294.172	285.611	-5.9	-7.7	-2.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular (3)	311.612	295.870	287.152	-5.9	-7.8	-2.9
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (3) (4)	293.201	278.796	270.754	-5.2	-7.7	-2.9
Gasoline, unleaded premium (3)	289.493	276.223	268.646	-6.2	-7.2	-2.7
Medical care	416.631	416.627	417.119	1.0	0.1	0.1
Recreation (5)	105.336	104.389	105.393	2.3	0.1	1.0
Education and communication (5)	145.071	145.913	145.524	0.2	0.3	-0.3
Other goods and services	380.773	381.447	381.001	1.5	0.1	-0.1
Commodity and service group
All items	243.727	243.556	243.623	1.7	0.0	0.0
Commodities	181.547	181.307	180.500	0.2	-0.6	-0.4
Commodities less food & beverages	146.876	146.000	144.711	-1.6	-1.5	-0.9
Nondurables less food & beverages	195.947	194.308	192.781	-1.0	-1.6	-0.8
Durables	99.091	98.942	97.891	-2.4	-1.2	-1.1
Services	298.170	298.069	298.993	2.6	0.3	0.3
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	235.956	235.781	235.833	1.7	-0.1	0.0
All items less shelter	222.330	221.841	221.494	1.2	-0.4	-0.2
Commodities less food	150.586	149.846	148.575	-1.5	-1.3	-0.8
Nondurables	222.220	221.937	221.300	0.9	-0.4	-0.3
Nondurables less food	199.813	198.489	197.019	-0.9	-1.4	-0.7
Services less rent of shelter (2)	314.294	313.351	314.160	2.7	0.0	0.3
Services less medical care services	287.521	287.415	288.377	2.6	0.3	0.3
Energy	302.497	290.758	285.637	-1.7	-5.6	-1.8
All items less energy	241.343	242.010	242.454	2.0	0.5	0.2
All items less food and energy	240.981	241.574	242.016	1.8	0.4	0.2
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.