Prices in the Los Angeles area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), declined 0.6 percent in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the December decrease was influenced by lower prices for gasoline. (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 4.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices advanced 7.4 percent, and energy prices advanced 4.5 percent. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 4.5 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices were unchanged for the month of December. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home declined 0.8 percent, with lower prices in five of the six grocery categories. Prices for food away from home increased 1.1 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 7.4 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 8.8 percent since a year ago. Price increases across food at home expenditure categories ranged from 2.8 percent for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs to 18.4 percent for cereals and bakery products. Prices for food away from home increased 5.7 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 6.4 percent over the month. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-14.4 percent). Prices for natural gas service advanced 18.3 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 1.2 percent for the same period.

Energy prices advanced 4.5 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for natural gas service (26.7 percent). Prices paid for electricity advanced 8.6 percent, but prices for gasoline decreased 2.3 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy decreased 0.2 percent in December. Lower prices for new and used motor vehicles (-3.4 percent) and medical care (-0.8 percent) were partially offset by higher prices for shelter (0.6 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 4.5 percent. Components contributing to the increase included medical care (5.6 percent) and shelter (5.4 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in used cars and trucks (-7.5 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	2018		2019		2020		2021		2022
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.8	3.5	0.7	3.2	0.8	3.1	0.2	0.9	1.1	7.5
February	0.7	3.6	0.1	2.5	0.3	3.4	0.4	1.0	0.3	7.4
March	0.4	3.8	0.6	2.7	0.7	1.9	0.5	2.2	1.5	8.5
April	0.4	4.0	1.0	3.3	-0.3	0.7	1.1	3.6	0.5	7.9
May	0.4	4.1	0.2	3.1	0.4	0.9	0.6	3.9	0.8	8.0
June	-0.2	4.0	0.0	3.3	0.5	1.4	0.6	4.0	1.1	8.6
July	0.2	3.9	0.1	3.3	0.6	1.9	0.6	3.9	-0.2	7.7
August	0.2	3.9	0.0	3.0	0.1	2.0	0.2	4.0	0.1	7.6
September	0.5	3.9	0.5	3.0	-0.3	1.2	0.3	4.6	0.5	7.8
October	0.5	4.1	0.7	3.2	0.2	0.7	0.9	5.4	0.6	7.5
November	-0.3	3.6	-0.3	3.2	0.1	1.0	0.6	6.0	-0.8	6.0
December	-0.3	3.2	-0.6	3.0	-0.2	1.5	0.4	6.6	-0.6	4.9

The January 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles area is scheduled to be released on February 14, 2023.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measures 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 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metropolitan area includes Los Angeles and Orange Counties in California.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 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-
	Historical data	Oct. 2022	Nov. 2022	Dec. 2022	Dec. 2021	Oct. 2022	Nov. 2022
Expenditure category
All items		317.014	314.633	312.601	4.9	-1.4	-0.6
All items (1967=100)		936.600	929.565	923.563	-	-	-
Food and beverages		320.025	321.688	321.802	7.2	0.6	0.0
Food		321.612	323.398	323.511	7.4	0.6	0.0
Food at home		312.279	314.224	311.773	8.8	-0.2	-0.8
Cereals and bakery products		343.234	344.102	343.326	18.4	0.0	-0.2
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		337.257	339.024	334.607	2.8	-0.8	-1.3
Dairy and related products		298.565	303.489	304.564	12.3	2.0	0.4
Fruits and vegetables		413.551	421.967	415.162	5.3	0.4	-1.6
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		304.976	299.922	296.778	6.1	-2.7	-1.0
Other food at home		245.990	247.071	246.420	12.8	0.2	-0.3
Food away from home		325.274	326.801	330.302	5.7	1.5	1.1
Alcoholic beverages		277.382	277.220	277.343	4.3	0.0	0.0
Housing		355.306	355.064	357.653	5.5	0.7	0.7
Shelter		404.703	405.616	407.918	5.4	0.8	0.6
Rent of primary residence(2)		427.667	429.249	431.608	5.2	0.9	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)		420.304	421.876	423.324	5.7	0.7	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)		420.280	421.851	423.299	5.7	0.7	0.3
Fuels and utilities		445.079	436.738	455.633	11.1	2.4	4.3
Household energy		400.078	389.913	412.764	13.7	3.2	5.9
Energy services(2)		397.756	387.559	410.989	13.8	3.3	6.0
Electricity(2)		447.621	447.558	453.041	8.6	1.2	1.2
Utility (piped) gas service(2)		345.765	316.411	374.276	26.7	8.2	18.3
Household furnishings and operations		132.504	130.864	129.346	1.0	-2.4	-1.2
Apparel		118.557	116.665	115.256	3.8	-2.8	-1.2
Transportation		279.793	266.703	252.037	2.8	-9.9	-5.5
Private transportation		281.868	268.435	253.882	2.2	-9.9	-5.4
New and used motor vehicles(4)		115.380	113.075	109.260	4.3	-5.3	-3.4
New vehicles(1)		195.817	195.026	193.987	3.3	-0.9	-0.5
Used cars and trucks(1)		378.884	368.799	360.256	-7.5	-4.9	-2.3
Motor fuel		456.213	403.171	345.571	-1.9	-24.3	-14.3
Gasoline (all types)		445.375	392.951	336.196	-2.3	-24.5	-14.4
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		447.050	394.136	336.482	-2.5	-24.7	-14.6
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		424.768	375.045	322.786	-2.0	-24.0	-13.9
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		423.341	374.691	323.438	-1.7	-23.6	-13.7
Medical care		553.630	553.054	548.472	5.6	-0.9	-0.8
Recreation(6)		120.946	120.381	120.139	5.9	-0.7	-0.2
Education and communication(6)		155.490	155.897	155.475	0.7	0.0	-0.3
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		2,183.793	2,183.845	2,183.845	5.0	0.0	0.0
Other goods and services		490.726	492.348	484.586	0.8	-1.3	-1.6
Commodity and service group
All items		317.014	314.633	312.601	4.9	-1.4	-0.6
Commodities		221.871	217.911	212.695	3.7	-4.1	-2.4
Commodities less food & beverages		170.620	164.649	157.607	1.0	-7.6	-4.3
Nondurables less food & beverages		243.757	230.806	216.237	1.8	-11.3	-6.3
Durables		104.390	103.325	101.657	0.0	-2.6	-1.6
Services		400.614	399.790	400.839	5.6	0.1	0.3
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		306.582	304.139	302.215	4.9	-1.4	-0.6
All items less shelter		278.261	274.389	270.398	4.6	-2.8	-1.5
Commodities less food		175.659	169.762	162.816	1.1	-7.3	-4.1
Nondurables		283.446	277.695	270.350	5.0	-4.6	-2.6
Nondurables less food		248.961	236.644	222.808	2.0	-10.5	-5.8
Services less rent of shelter(3)		405.670	402.134	401.295	5.8	-1.1	-0.2
Services less medical care services		386.008	385.294	386.537	5.5	0.1	0.3
Energy		436.228	400.142	374.597	4.5	-14.1	-6.4
All items less energy		311.908	311.543	310.916	5.0	-0.3	-0.2
All items less food and energy		310.310	309.578	308.824	4.5	-0.5	-0.2
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.