Prices in the Los Angeles area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), rose 0.3 percent in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the May increase was influenced by higher prices for natural gas service and shelter. (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 2.5 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices rose 6.0 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.2 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices moved up 0.4 percent for the month of May. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home increased 0.5 percent, and prices for food away from home advanced 0.3 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 2.0 percent. Prices for food away from home increased 3.9 percent since a year ago, and prices for food at home advanced 0.5 percent

Energy

The energy index advanced 1.4 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for natural gas service (16.6 percent). Prices for electricity increased 0.2 percent, but prices for gasoline declined 0.2 percent for the same period.

Energy prices rose 6.0 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (7.0 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service advanced 9.7 percent, and prices for electricity rose 2.5 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy inched up 0.2 percent in May. Higher prices for shelter (0.3 percent) and medical care (0.3 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for other goods and services (-0.7 percent), household furnishings and operations (-0.6 percent), and apparel (-0.6 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 2.2 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (4.4 percent) and medical care (2.1 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price declines in apparel (-4.4 percent) and education and communication (-2.4 percent).

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

Month	2012		2013		2014		2015		2016		2017
	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual
January	0.8	2.1	0.8	2.0	0.5	0.8	-0.3	-0.1	0.7	3.1	0.9	2.1
February	0.5	2.1	0.7	2.2	0.5	0.5	0.7	0.1	0.0	2.4	0.6	2.7
March	1.0	2.0	0.1	1.3	0.6	1.0	1.0	0.5	0.3	1.7	0.3	2.7
April	0.0	1.5	-0.4	0.9	0.0	1.4	-0.1	0.5	0.2	2.0	0.2	2.7
May	0.1	1.6	0.1	1.0	0.4	1.7	1.0	1.1	0.5	1.4	0.3	2.5
June	-0.4	1.6	-0.1	1.4	0.1	1.8	-0.3	0.8	0.1	1.8
July	-0.1	1.9	-0.1	1.3	0.1	2.0	0.7	1.4	0.0	1.1
August	0.6	2.3	0.1	0.8	-0.1	1.8	-0.3	1.1	0.0	1.4
September	0.4	2.2	0.2	0.6	0.0	1.7	-0.4	0.7	0.2	1.9
October	0.8	3.0	0.1	-0.1	-0.1	1.4	0.2	1.0	0.4	2.2
November	-1.0	2.1	-0.5	0.4	-0.7	1.3	0.0	1.6	-0.4	1.8
December	-0.7	1.9	0.0	1.1	-0.5	0.7	-0.1	2.0	0.0	2.0

The June 2017 Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County is scheduled to be released on July 14, 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/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-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-
	Mar. 2017	Apr. 2017	May 2017	May 2016	Mar. 2017	Apr. 2017
Expenditure category
All items	254.525	254.971	255.674	2.5	0.5	0.3
All items (1967=100)	751.980	753.297	755.374	-	-	-
Food and beverages	254.571	254.321	255.381	1.9	0.3	0.4
Food	254.820	254.444	255.493	2.0	0.3	0.4
Food at home	256.216	253.671	254.910	0.5	-0.5	0.5
Food away from home	249.274	251.573	252.373	3.9	1.2	0.3
Alcoholic beverages	235.876	237.450	238.612	1.8	1.2	0.5
Housing	285.975	286.168	287.251	4.1	0.4	0.4
Shelter	327.750	327.432	328.269	4.4	0.2	0.3
Rent of primary residence(1)	343.624	344.279	345.534	5.1	0.6	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)	339.317	340.072	340.230	4.3	0.3	0.0
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	339.298	340.053	340.212	4.3	0.3	0.0
Fuels and utilities	303.031	306.090	313.977	4.4	3.6	2.6
Household energy	260.921	263.247	273.174	4.4	4.7	3.8
Energy services(1)	259.884	261.715	272.069	4.3	4.7	4.0
Electricity(1)	302.157	305.458	305.923	2.5	1.2	0.2
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	208.109	206.940	241.258	9.7	15.9	16.6
Household furnishings and operations	116.522	117.355	116.614	0.6	0.1	-0.6
Apparel	112.197	108.911	108.252	-4.4	-3.5	-0.6
Transportation	197.847	198.562	199.023	2.0	0.6	0.2
Private transportation	193.043	193.114	193.841	2.6	0.4	0.4
Motor fuel	233.940	233.584	233.161	7.1	-0.3	-0.2
Gasoline (all types)	228.870	228.523	228.118	7.0	-0.3	-0.2
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)	229.217	228.867	228.362	7.0	-0.4	-0.2
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)	219.494	219.006	219.655	7.5	0.1	0.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)	219.062	218.778	218.704	7.1	-0.2	0.0
Medical care	465.952	467.445	469.064	2.1	0.7	0.3
Recreation(5)	106.272	107.131	107.409	-0.1	1.1	0.3
Education and communication(5)	142.117	141.997	142.072	-2.4	0.0	0.1
Other goods and services	390.346	410.527	407.766	4.2	4.5	-0.7
Commodity and service group
All items	254.525	254.971	255.674	2.5	0.5	0.3
Commodities	176.116	176.498	176.772	1.3	0.4	0.2
Commodities less food & beverages	135.189	135.808	135.747	0.8	0.4	0.0
Nondurables less food & beverages	177.662	178.728	178.261	2.2	0.3	-0.3
Durables	93.543	93.721	94.064	-1.6	0.6	0.4
Services	324.306	324.808	325.895	3.0	0.5	0.3
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	245.352	245.756	246.421	2.5	0.4	0.3
All items less shelter	222.476	223.272	223.918	1.2	0.6	0.3
Commodities less food	139.522	140.174	140.145	0.9	0.4	0.0
Nondurables	217.027	217.511	217.737	2.1	0.3	0.1
Nondurables less food	183.253	184.361	183.971	2.2	0.4	-0.2
Services less rent of shelter(2)	328.376	330.104	331.578	1.0	1.0	0.4
Services less medical care services	312.048	312.469	313.692	3.2	0.5	0.4
Energy	245.165	245.837	249.385	6.0	1.7	1.4
All items less energy	257.164	257.596	258.090	2.2	0.4	0.2
All items less food and energy	257.903	258.472	258.872	2.2	0.4	0.2
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.