Prices in the Los Angeles area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.5 percent in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the September increase was influenced by higher prices for gasoline and apparel. (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 3.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.8 percent over the year. Food prices advanced 3.9 percent. Energy prices rose 3.4 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of electricity. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.6 percent for the month of September. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home increased 1.0 percent, and prices for food at home rose 0.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 3.9 percent. Prices for food away from home increased 6.0 percent since a year ago, and prices for food at home advanced 1.8 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 3.5 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (5.6 percent). Prices for electricity were virtually unchanged, while prices for natural gas service decreased 0.9 percent for the same period.

Energy prices rose 3.4 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for electricity (10.3 percent). Prices paid for gasoline rose 2.4 percent, but prices for natural gas service declined 6.2 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.3 percent in September. Higher prices for apparel (4.0 percent) and household furnishings and operations (2.5 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for medical care (-1.4 percent) and other goods and services (-0.8 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.8 percent. Components contributing to the increase included household furnishings and operations (5.0 percent) and shelter (4.3 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decline in recreation (-3.0 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
November	0.0	1.6	-0.4	1.8	0.1	3.6	-0.3	3.6
December	-0.1	2.0	0.0	2.0	0.0	3.6	-0.3	3.2

The October 2019 Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles area is scheduled to be released on November 13, 2019.

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/homch17_a.htm.

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.

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-
	Jul. 2019	Aug. 2019	Sep. 2019	Sep. 2018	Jul. 2019	Aug. 2019
Expenditure category
All items	274.682	274.579	276.054	3.0	0.5	0.5
All items (1967=100)	811.534	811.228	815.585	-	-	-
Food and beverages	266.975	266.821	268.178	3.5	0.5	0.5
Food	267.789	267.539	269.243	3.9	0.5	0.6
Food at home	256.670	255.824	256.546	1.8	0.0	0.3
Cereals and bakery products	278.288	271.840	273.250	5.7	-1.8	0.5
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	279.145	277.930	279.039	1.3	0.0	0.4
Dairy and related products	245.850	250.521	244.890	3.5	-0.4	-2.2
Fruits and vegetables	345.694	347.604	344.965	0.6	-0.2	-0.8
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	255.491	258.151	258.029	-0.3	1.0	0.0
Other food at home	197.945	194.663	199.400	1.5	0.7	2.4
Food away from home	275.796	276.171	278.875	6.0	1.1	1.0
Food away from home	275.796	276.171	278.875	6.0	1.1	1.0
Alcoholic beverages	239.819	240.962	237.594	-1.6	-0.9	-1.4
Housing	317.017	317.261	318.579	4.4	0.5	0.4
Shelter	365.102	366.290	367.156	4.3	0.6	0.2
Rent of primary residence(2)	386.502	387.736	389.477	5.6	0.8	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	379.331	380.668	381.832	4.8	0.7	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	379.309	380.646	381.810	4.8	0.7	0.3
Fuels and utilities	336.032	332.419	332.808	4.6	-1.0	0.1
Household energy	290.527	285.464	285.017	5.5	-1.9	-0.2
Energy services(2)	289.173	284.022	283.613	5.4	-1.9	-0.1
Electricity(2)	332.992	326.047	326.491	10.3	-2.0	0.1
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	237.789	235.594	233.416	-6.2	-1.8	-0.9
Household furnishings and operations	123.428	121.574	124.585	5.0	0.9	2.5
Apparel	105.821	107.937	112.308	0.9	6.1	4.0
Transportation	217.078	214.119	217.643	1.8	0.3	1.6
Private transportation	214.303	211.461	214.749	1.4	0.2	1.6
New and used motor vehicles(4)	92.094	91.674	90.969	0.5	-1.2	-0.8
New vehicles(1)	168.876	168.590	168.792	0.7	0.0	0.1
Used cars and trucks(1)	273.654	276.858	265.859	1.8	-2.8	-4.0
Motor fuel	285.269	275.496	290.816	2.4	1.9	5.6
Gasoline (all types)	278.711	269.106	284.163	2.4	2.0	5.6
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	278.800	269.084	284.214	2.1	1.9	5.6
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	268.892	260.694	274.830	3.2	2.2	5.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	266.404	257.613	271.704	3.0	2.0	5.5
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	774.857	774.857	777.794	-0.6	0.4	0.4
Medical care	486.727	486.938	480.073	2.2	-1.4	-1.4
Recreation(6)	104.282	104.271	104.177	-3.0	-0.1	-0.1
Education and communication(6)	148.046	148.897	149.287	0.3	0.8	0.3
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,920.755	1,951.333	1,961.620	2.8	2.1	0.5
Other goods and services	443.955	446.607	443.033	2.9	-0.2	-0.8
Commodity and service group
All items	274.682	274.579	276.054	3.0	0.5	0.5
Commodities	184.820	183.672	186.235	2.2	0.8	1.4
Commodities less food & beverages	141.895	140.444	143.300	1.4	1.0	2.0
Nondurables less food & beverages	192.698	190.511	196.346	1.1	1.9	3.1
Durables	92.839	92.070	92.305	1.9	-0.6	0.3
Services	354.652	355.469	355.989	3.3	0.4	0.1
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	265.392	265.277	267.061	3.0	0.6	0.7
All items less shelter	234.910	234.219	235.978	2.1	0.5	0.8
Commodities less food	146.242	144.840	147.569	1.2	0.9	1.9
Nondurables	231.210	229.904	233.824	2.3	1.1	1.7
Nondurables less food	197.895	195.860	201.274	0.9	1.7	2.8
Services less rent of shelter(3)	349.081	349.377	349.406	1.8	0.1	0.0
Services less medical care services	342.706	343.500	344.269	3.3	0.5	0.2
Energy	289.143	280.943	290.873	3.4	0.6	3.5
All items less energy	275.897	276.331	277.256	3.0	0.5	0.3
All items less food and energy	277.590	278.131	278.935	2.8	0.5	0.3
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.