Prices in the Los Angeles area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), decreased 0.3 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 energy. (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 increased 3.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.0 percent over the year. Energy prices rose 6.0 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. Food prices increased 3.1 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices edged down 0.1 percent for the month of November. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home inched down 0.1 percent, while prices for food at home were unchanged for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 3.1 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 4.6 percent since a year ago, and prices for food at home moved up 1.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 4.4 percent over the month. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-4.3 percent). Prices for natural gas service fell 16.9 percent and prices for electricity decreased 0.3 percent for the same period.

Energy prices rose 6.0 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (8.8 percent). Prices paid for electricity increased 3.3 percent, but prices for natural gas service declined 7.0 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy were unchanged in November. Higher prices for other goods and services (2.1 percent) and shelter (0.6 percent) helped counter lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-3.2 percent) and apparel (-2.5 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.0 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (5.2 percent) and medical care (2.5 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in apparel (-1.2 percent) and recreation (-1.0 percent).

Table A. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

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	-0.3	-0.1	0.7	3.1	0.9	2.1	0.8	3.5	0.7	3.2
February	0.7	0.1	0.0	2.4	0.6	2.7	0.7	3.6	0.1	2.5
March	1.0	0.5	0.3	1.7	0.3	2.7	0.4	3.8	0.6	2.7
April	-0.1	0.5	0.2	2.0	0.2	2.7	0.4	4.0	1.0	3.3
May	1.0	1.1	0.5	1.4	0.3	2.5	0.4	4.1	0.2	3.1
June	-0.3	0.8	0.1	1.8	-0.2	2.2	-0.2	4.0	0.0	3.3
July	0.7	1.4	0.0	1.1	0.3	2.5	0.2	3.9	0.1	3.3
August	-0.3	1.1	0.0	1.4	0.3	2.8	0.2	3.9	0.0	3.0
September	-0.4	0.7	0.2	1.9	0.4	3.1	0.5	3.9	0.5	3.0
October	0.2	1.0	0.4	2.2	0.4	3.1	0.5	4.1	0.7	3.2
November	0.0	1.6	-0.4	1.8	0.1	3.6	-0.3	3.6	-0.3	3.2
December	-0.1	2.0	0.0	2.0	0.0	3.6	-0.3	3.2

The December 2019 Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles area is scheduled to be released on January 14, 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 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/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-Long Beach-Anaheim. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of Los Angeles and Orange 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.

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

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Sep. 2019	Oct. 2019	Nov. 2019	Nov. 2018	Sep. 2019	Oct. 2019
Expenditure category
All items	276.054	278.075	277.239	3.2	0.4	-0.3
All items (1967=100)	815.585	821.558	819.088	-	-	-
Food and beverages	268.178	268.773	268.232	2.7	0.0	-0.2
Food	269.243	269.868	269.725	3.1	0.2	-0.1
Food at home	256.546	257.259	257.137	1.6	0.2	0.0
Cereals and bakery products	273.250	276.331	273.013	2.7	-0.1	-1.2
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	279.039	280.590	284.748	2.4	2.0	1.5
Dairy and related products	244.890	249.190	252.231	4.9	3.0	1.2
Fruits and vegetables	344.965	347.434	341.367	1.1	-1.0	-1.7
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	258.029	253.321	255.707	-1.5	-0.9	0.9
Other food at home	199.400	198.414	197.047	0.7	-1.2	-0.7
Food away from home	278.875	279.400	279.237	4.6	0.1	-0.1
Food away from home	278.875	279.400	279.237	4.6	0.1	-0.1
Alcoholic beverages	237.594	237.752	231.925	-3.3	-2.4	-2.5
Housing	318.579	319.381	319.370	4.6	0.2	0.0
Shelter	367.156	368.322	370.434	5.2	0.9	0.6
Rent of primary residence(2)	389.477	391.895	393.179	5.4	1.0	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	381.832	382.524	384.010	4.8	0.6	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	381.810	382.502	383.988	4.8	0.6	0.4
Fuels and utilities	332.808	337.793	326.698	1.7	-1.8	-3.3
Household energy	285.017	290.446	276.725	0.8	-2.9	-4.7
Energy services(2)	283.613	288.848	275.203	0.7	-3.0	-4.7
Electricity(2)	326.491	331.131	330.012	3.3	1.1	-0.3
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	233.416	240.518	199.891	-7.0	-14.4	-16.9
Household furnishings and operations	124.585	122.880	118.888	0.9	-4.6	-3.2
Apparel	112.308	109.325	106.580	-1.2	-5.1	-2.5
Transportation	217.643	225.128	221.128	2.5	1.6	-1.8
Private transportation	214.749	222.627	218.837	2.9	1.9	-1.7
New and used motor vehicles(4)	90.969	91.183	90.685	-0.9	-0.3	-0.5
New vehicles(1)	168.792	168.472	168.689	-0.1	-0.1	0.1
Used cars and trucks(1)	265.859	265.251	263.523	-0.9	-0.9	-0.7
Motor fuel	290.816	319.939	306.142	8.7	5.3	-4.3
Gasoline (all types)	284.163	312.811	299.212	8.8	5.3	-4.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	284.214	313.280	299.590	8.6	5.4	-4.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	274.830	300.817	287.692	8.8	4.7	-4.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	271.704	297.181	284.650	8.9	4.8	-4.2
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	777.794	782.920	782.920	0.0	0.7	0.0
Medical care	480.073	484.305	485.276	2.5	1.1	0.2
Recreation(6)	104.177	107.776	107.510	-1.0	3.2	-0.2
Education and communication(6)	149.287	149.112	149.289	1.5	0.0	0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,961.620	1,959.569	1,959.569	2.7	-0.1	0.0
Other goods and services	443.033	441.100	450.146	4.4	1.6	2.1
Commodity and service group
All items	276.054	278.075	277.239	3.2	0.4	-0.3
Commodities	186.235	188.209	185.573	1.9	-0.4	-1.4
Commodities less food & beverages	143.300	145.669	142.409	1.3	-0.6	-2.2
Nondurables less food & beverages	196.346	202.158	196.819	2.4	0.2	-2.6
Durables	92.305	91.689	90.318	-0.6	-2.2	-1.5
Services	355.989	358.059	358.805	3.9	0.8	0.2
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	267.061	268.989	268.089	3.3	0.4	-0.3
All items less shelter	235.978	238.399	236.218	1.9	0.1	-0.9
Commodities less food	147.569	149.910	146.542	1.1	-0.7	-2.2
Nondurables	233.824	237.382	234.116	2.6	0.1	-1.4
Nondurables less food	201.274	206.858	201.420	2.0	0.1	-2.6
Services less rent of shelter(3)	349.406	352.824	351.611	1.9	0.6	-0.3
Services less medical care services	344.269	346.147	346.853	3.8	0.8	0.2
Energy	290.873	311.941	298.072	6.0	2.5	-4.4
All items less energy	277.256	278.028	278.051	3.0	0.3	0.0
All items less food and energy	278.935	279.732	279.781	3.0	0.3	0.0
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base. (2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (3) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (6) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
- Data not available NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.