Prices in the Los Angeles area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.6 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the March increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter and 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 2.7 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices advanced 2.3 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of natural gas service. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.8 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.3 percent for the month of March. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 0.5 percent, and prices for food away from home moved up 0.2 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 2.2 percent. Prices for food away from home increased 4.6 percent since a year ago, while prices for food at home were unchanged.

Energy

The energy index increased 3.6 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (4.5 percent). Prices for natural gas service increased 5.3 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 1.0 percent for the same period.

Energy prices advanced 2.3 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for natural gas service (21.1 percent). Prices paid for electricity increased 2.1 percent, but prices for gasoline edged down 0.1 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.5 percent in March. Higher prices for apparel (2.4 percent), household furnishings and operations (1.9 percent), and shelter (0.7 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for medical care (-0.7 percent) and recreation (-0.4 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.8 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (5.0 percent) and household furnishings and operations (3.5 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price declines in apparel (-4.4 percent) and recreation (-1.7 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
May	1.0	1.1	0.5	1.4	0.3	2.5	0.4	4.1
June	-0.3	0.8	0.1	1.8	-0.2	2.2	-0.2	4.0
July	0.7	1.4	0.0	1.1	0.3	2.5	0.2	3.9
August	-0.3	1.1	0.0	1.4	0.3	2.8	0.2	3.9
September	-0.4	0.7	0.2	1.9	0.4	3.1	0.5	3.9
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 April 2019 Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area is scheduled to be released on May 10, 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-
	Jan. 2019	Feb. 2019	Mar. 2019	Mar. 2018	Jan. 2019	Feb. 2019
Expenditure category
All items	269.468	269.608	271.311	2.7	0.7	0.6
All items (1967=100)	796.129	796.542	801.573	-	-	-
Food and beverages	263.128	263.133	264.112	2.3	0.4	0.4
Food	263.610	263.672	264.592	2.2	0.4	0.3
Food at home	253.860	253.890	255.111	0.0	0.5	0.5
Cereals and bakery products	266.787	265.333	267.027	0.8	0.1	0.6
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	273.811	276.038	274.330	0.2	0.2	-0.6
Dairy and related products	241.170	246.272	246.976	2.6	2.4	0.3
Fruits and vegetables	339.832	333.006	343.687	0.8	1.1	3.2
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	265.622	270.972	265.537	3.3	0.0	-2.0
Other food at home	197.640	195.949	197.371	-4.3	-0.1	0.7
Food away from home	270.248	270.343	270.937	4.6	0.3	0.2
Food away from home	270.248	270.343	270.937	4.6	0.3	0.2
Alcoholic beverages	240.653	239.892	241.589	2.8	0.4	0.7
Housing	309.193	309.497	312.127	4.9	0.9	0.8
Shelter	355.952	356.982	359.475	5.0	1.0	0.7
Rent of primary residence(2)	375.935	377.425	380.499	5.6	1.2	0.8
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	369.294	371.743	373.265	5.1	1.1	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	369.273	371.721	373.243	5.1	1.1	0.4
Fuels and utilities	328.241	325.201	329.908	5.2	0.5	1.4
Household energy	282.486	278.269	284.090	6.7	0.6	2.1
Energy services(2)	281.164	276.771	282.620	6.7	0.5	2.1
Electricity(2)	317.874	317.998	321.116	2.1	1.0	1.0
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	243.082	229.026	241.126	21.1	-0.8	5.3
Household furnishings and operations	120.705	119.497	121.782	3.5	0.9	1.9
Apparel	108.962	107.306	109.928	-4.4	0.9	2.4
Transportation	209.141	210.461	212.514	1.0	1.6	1.0
Private transportation	206.710	207.378	209.911	1.3	1.5	1.2
New and used motor vehicles(4)	92.091	91.772	91.803	-0.2	-0.3	0.0
New vehicles(1)	171.896	170.073	169.506	0.5	-1.4	-0.3
Used cars and trucks(1)	267.062	267.527	269.606	0.0	1.0	0.8
Motor fuel	253.550	256.316	267.783	-0.1	5.6	4.5
Gasoline (all types)	247.517	250.262	261.512	-0.1	5.7	4.5
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	247.851	250.628	261.977	-0.1	5.7	4.5
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	238.913	241.180	252.139	0.3	5.5	4.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	236.805	239.351	249.632	0.0	5.4	4.3
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	774.857	774.857	774.857	3.6	0.0	0.0
Medical care	481.041	482.174	478.912	-0.1	-0.4	-0.7
Recreation(6)	107.787	105.914	105.446	-1.7	-2.2	-0.4
Education and communication(6)	146.179	146.560	146.326	1.7	0.1	-0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,893.973	1,893.391	1,893.391	6.6	0.0	0.0
Other goods and services	432.648	435.395	438.268	2.8	1.3	0.7
Commodity and service group
All items	269.468	269.608	271.311	2.7	0.7	0.6
Commodities	181.312	180.663	182.634	0.5	0.7	1.1
Commodities less food & beverages	138.740	137.885	140.105	-0.7	1.0	1.6
Nondurables less food & beverages	186.137	184.882	190.025	-1.2	2.1	2.8
Durables	92.675	92.194	91.869	0.0	-0.9	-0.4
Services	347.919	348.755	350.227	3.8	0.7	0.4
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	260.220	260.322	262.204	2.9	0.8	0.7
All items less shelter	231.460	231.196	232.548	1.2	0.5	0.6
Commodities less food	143.151	142.287	144.522	-0.6	1.0	1.6
Nondurables	225.740	225.033	228.388	0.6	1.2	1.5
Nondurables less food	191.646	190.401	195.428	-0.9	2.0	2.6
Services less rent of shelter(3)	345.710	346.278	346.301	1.9	0.2	0.0
Services less medical care services	336.054	336.890	338.536	4.1	0.7	0.5
Energy	265.455	265.805	275.385	2.3	3.7	3.6
All items less energy	271.869	271.996	273.189	2.7	0.5	0.4
All items less food and energy	273.579	273.716	274.954	2.8	0.5	0.5
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.