Prices in the Los Angeles area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), decreased 0.4 percent in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the November decrease was influenced by lower prices for apparel and natural gas service. (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 1.8 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices advanced 1.4 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of electricity. The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.3 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices decreased 0.4 percent for the month of November. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home decreased 0.7 percent, while prices for food away from home were unchanged for the same period.

Over the year, food prices decreased 0.4 percent. Prices for food at home declined 2.9 percent since a year ago, but prices for food away from home increased 2.9 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 1.4 percent over the month. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for natural gas service (-12.2 percent). Prices for both electricity and gasoline edged down 0.1 percent in November.

Energy prices advanced 1.4 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for electricity (4.2 percent) and natural gas service (10.7 percent). Prices for gasoline declined 1.9 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy decreased 0.3 percent in November. Lower prices for apparel (-4.9 percent) and recreation (-1.5 percent) were partially offset by higher prices for other goods and services (0.4 percent) and shelter (0.3 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 2.3 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (5.0 percent) and medical care (4.6 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price declines in apparel (-3.9 percent) and education and communication (-3.4 percent).

Table A. Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County CPI-U monthly and annual percent changes (not seasonally adjusted)

Month	2011		2012		2013		2014		2015		2016
	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual
January	0.9	1.8	0.8	2.1	0.8	2.0	0.5	0.8	-0.3	-0.1	0.7	3.1
February	0.5	2.3	0.5	2.1	0.7	2.2	0.5	0.5	0.7	0.1	0.0	2.4
March	1.1	3.0	1.0	2.0	0.1	1.3	0.6	1.0	1.0	0.5	0.3	1.7
April	0.5	3.3	0.0	1.5	-0.4	0.9	0.0	1.4	-0.1	0.5	0.2	2.0
May	0.0	3.1	0.1	1.6	0.1	1.0	0.4	1.7	1.0	1.1	0.5	1.4
June	-0.4	2.9	-0.4	1.6	-0.1	1.4	0.1	1.8	-0.3	0.8	0.1	1.8
July	-0.4	2.4	-0.1	1.9	-0.1	1.3	0.1	2.0	0.7	1.4	0.0	1.1
August	0.2	2.4	0.6	2.3	0.1	0.8	-0.1	1.8	-0.3	1.1	0.0	1.4
September	0.5	3.1	0.4	2.2	0.2	0.6	0.0	1.7	-0.4	0.7	0.2	1.9
October	0.0	2.8	0.8	3.0	0.1	-0.1	-0.1	1.4	0.2	1.0	0.4	2.2
November	-0.1	3.0	-1.0	2.1	-0.5	0.4	-0.7	1.3	0.0	1.6	-0.4	1.8
December	-0.5	2.2	-0.7	1.9	0.0	1.1	-0.5	0.7	-0.1	2.0

The December 2016 Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County is scheduled to be released on January 18, 2017.

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 89 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 28 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 6,000 housing units and approximately 24,000 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: (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-
	Sep. 2016	Oct. 2016	Nov. 2016	Nov. 2015	Sep. 2016	Oct. 2016
Expenditure category
All items	250.145	251.098	250.185	1.8	0.0	-0.4
All items (1967=100)	739.038	741.855	739.156	-	-	-
Food and beverages	250.958	251.982	250.967	-0.3	0.0	-0.4
Food	250.961	251.921	250.881	-0.4	0.0	-0.4
Food at home	253.368	254.659	252.772	-2.9	-0.2	-0.7
Food away from home	244.226	244.766	244.783	2.9	0.2	0.0
Alcoholic beverages	236.018	237.906	237.315	1.7	0.5	-0.2
Housing	280.005	281.615	281.400	4.5	0.5	-0.1
Shelter	319.854	320.795	321.725	5.0	0.6	0.3
Rent of primary residence(1)	335.004	337.209	338.473	5.2	1.0	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)	331.993	332.914	334.484	5.0	0.8	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	331.974	332.895	334.464	5.0	0.8	0.5
Fuels and utilities	303.548	312.131	305.275	4.9	0.6	-2.2
Household energy	269.105	280.018	271.088	5.8	0.7	-3.2
Energy services(1)	267.998	279.015	269.989	5.9	0.7	-3.2
Electricity(1)	297.144	313.726	313.478	4.2	5.5	-0.1
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	247.095	247.433	217.163	10.7	-12.1	-12.2
Household furnishings and operations	115.082	116.212	114.632	0.2	-0.4	-1.4
Apparel	112.048	111.876	106.406	-3.9	-5.0	-4.9
Transportation	189.650	190.597	190.463	-1.1	0.4	-0.1
Private transportation	185.094	186.098	185.474	-0.7	0.2	-0.3
Motor fuel	212.508	215.917	215.875	-1.8	1.6	0.0
Gasoline (all types)	207.870	211.196	211.089	-1.9	1.5	-0.1
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)	207.978	211.267	211.202	-2.0	1.6	0.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)	199.841	203.617	203.589	-1.5	1.9	0.0
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)	200.004	203.277	202.928	-1.3	1.5	-0.2
Medical care	466.430	466.477	463.349	4.6	-0.7	-0.7
Recreation(5)	106.986	106.914	105.287	-1.2	-1.6	-1.5
Education and communication(5)	141.794	141.982	142.028	-3.4	0.2	0.0
Other goods and services	394.520	391.495	393.168	0.4	-0.3	0.4
Commodity and service group
All items	250.145	251.098	250.185	1.8	0.0	-0.4
Commodities	173.569	173.944	172.272	-1.2	-0.7	-1.0
Commodities less food & beverages	133.205	133.296	131.442	-1.9	-1.3	-1.4
Nondurables less food & beverages	174.073	173.785	171.327	-1.2	-1.6	-1.4
Durables	93.144	93.612	92.350	-3.3	-0.9	-1.3
Services	318.290	319.761	319.531	3.4	0.4	-0.1
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	240.804	241.788	240.963	1.6	0.1	-0.3
All items less shelter	219.676	220.640	218.881	-0.2	-0.4	-0.8
Commodities less food	137.570	137.709	135.865	-1.8	-1.2	-1.3
Nondurables	213.347	213.657	211.809	-0.7	-0.7	-0.9
Nondurables less food	179.804	179.623	177.226	-1.0	-1.4	-1.3
Services less rent of shelter(2)	325.020	327.305	325.359	1.2	0.1	-0.6
Services less medical care services	305.931	307.281	307.194	3.3	0.4	0.0
Energy	235.020	241.322	237.868	1.4	1.2	-1.4
All items less energy	253.185	253.742	253.013	1.9	-0.1	-0.3
All items less food and energy	253.898	254.388	253.711	2.3	-0.1	-0.3
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.