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 shelter 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 increased 3.9 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices jumped 12.1 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.8 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices declined 0.4 percent for the month of September. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home decreased 1.0 percent, but prices for food away from home moved up 0.2 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 0.8 percent. Prices for food away from home advanced 3.2 percent since a year ago, but prices for food at home decreased 1.3 percent.

Energy

The energy index declined 2.0 percent over the month. The decline was mainly due to lower prices for natural gas service (-13.8 percent) and electricity (-6.4 percent). Prices for gasoline rose 1.7 percent for the same period.

Energy prices jumped 12.1 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (16.8 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service increased 5.9 percent, and prices for electricity increased 1.9 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.9 percent in September. Higher prices for apparel (3.4 percent), household furnishings and operations (2.3 percent), education and communication (1.7 percent), and shelter (0.7 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for used cars and trucks (-4.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.8 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (5.6 percent), apparel (4.6 percent), and education and communication (3.3 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price declines in medical care (-1.4 percent) and recreation (-0.5 percent).

Table A. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CPI-U monthly and annual percent changes (not seasonally adjusted)

Month	2013		2014		2015		2016		2017		2018
	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual
January	0.8	2.0	0.5	0.8	-0.3	-0.1	0.7	3.1	0.9	2.1	0.8	3.5
February	0.7	2.2	0.5	0.5	0.7	0.1	0.0	2.4	0.6	2.7	0.7	3.6
March	0.1	1.3	0.6	1.0	1.0	0.5	0.3	1.7	0.3	2.7	0.4	3.8
April	-0.4	0.9	0.0	1.4	-0.1	0.5	0.2	2.0	0.2	2.7	0.4	4.0
May	0.1	1.0	0.4	1.7	1.0	1.1	0.5	1.4	0.3	2.5	0.4	4.1
June	-0.1	1.4	0.1	1.8	-0.3	0.8	0.1	1.8	-0.2	2.2	-0.2	4.0
July	-0.1	1.3	0.1	2.0	0.7	1.4	0.0	1.1	0.3	2.5	0.2	3.9
August	0.1	0.8	-0.1	1.8	-0.3	1.1	0.0	1.4	0.3	2.8	0.2	3.9
September	0.2	0.6	0.0	1.7	-0.4	0.7	0.2	1.9	0.4	3.1	0.5	3.9
October	0.1	-0.1	-0.1	1.4	0.2	1.0	0.4	2.2	0.4	3.1
November	-0.5	0.4	-0.7	1.3	0.0	1.6	-0.4	1.8	0.1	3.6
December	0.0	1.1	-0.5	0.7	-0.1	2.0	0.0	2.0	0.0	3.6

The October 2018 Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area is scheduled to be released on November 14, 2018.

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.

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. 2018	Aug. 2018	Sep. 2018	Sep. 2017	Jul. 2018	Aug. 2018
Expenditure category
All items	266.007	266.665	268.032	3.9	0.8	0.5
All items (1967=100)	785.904	787.846	791.885	-	-	-
Food and beverages	259.476	259.946	259.086	0.9	-0.2	-0.3
Food	259.767	260.378	259.224	0.8	-0.2	-0.4
Food at home	254.096	254.722	252.074	-1.3	-0.8	-1.0
Cereals and bakery products	263.179	261.956	258.513	-	-1.8	-1.3
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	276.583	280.619	275.440	-	-0.4	-1.8
Dairy and related products	234.972	241.160	236.652	-	0.7	-1.9
Fruits and vegetables	344.753	341.279	342.875	-	-0.5	0.5
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	258.283	265.345	258.852	-	0.2	-2.4
Other food at home	200.663	196.676	196.376	-	-2.1	-0.2
Food away from home	262.209	262.795	263.212	3.2	0.4	0.2
Food away from home	262.209	262.795	263.212	3.2	0.4	0.2
Alcoholic beverages	239.755	238.324	241.451	2.4	0.7	1.3
Housing	301.542	303.851	305.084	5.3	1.2	0.4
Shelter	346.981	349.244	351.857	5.6	1.4	0.7
Rent of primary residence(2)	365.169	367.350	368.921	4.9	1.0	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	361.296	362.709	364.493	5.2	0.9	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	361.275	362.689	364.472	5.2	0.9	0.5
Fuels and utilities	328.041	338.180	318.091	4.2	-3.0	-5.9
Household energy	282.590	295.766	270.285	3.3	-4.4	-8.6
Energy services(2)	281.402	294.652	269.007	3.4	-4.4	-8.7
Electricity(2)	316.429	316.423	296.112	1.9	-6.4	-6.4
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	246.743	288.393	248.728	5.9	0.8	-13.8
Household furnishings and operations	115.972	115.982	118.629	2.9	2.3	2.3
Apparel	107.346	107.594	111.272	4.6	3.7	3.4
Transportation	213.623	213.054	213.810	6.3	0.1	0.4
Private transportation	211.018	210.297	211.703	6.9	0.3	0.7
New and used motor vehicles(4)	92.280	92.075	90.508	-	-1.9	-1.7
New vehicles(1)	169.010	168.744	167.570	-	-0.9	-0.7
Used cars and trucks(1)	270.549	272.547	261.108	-	-3.5	-4.2
Motor fuel	280.952	279.252	284.090	17.0	1.1	1.7
Gasoline (all types)	274.462	272.792	277.522	16.8	1.1	1.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	275.178	273.460	278.264	16.9	1.1	1.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	263.459	261.950	266.288	16.7	1.1	1.7
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	260.989	259.618	263.818	16.1	1.1	1.6
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	758.909	758.909	782.725	-	3.1	3.1
Medical care	480.464	468.339	469.547	-1.4	-2.3	0.3
Recreation(6)	105.881	106.369	107.373	-0.5	1.4	0.9
Education and communication(6)	145.628	146.413	148.874	3.3	2.2	1.7
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)	1,828.363	1,850.794	1,907.451	-	4.3	3.1
Other goods and services	428.248	427.913	430.392	3.4	0.5	0.6
Commodity and service group
All items	266.007	266.665	268.032	3.9	0.8	0.5
Commodities	181.190	181.490	182.161	2.5	0.5	0.4
Commodities less food & beverages	139.961	140.178	141.385	3.6	1.0	0.9
Nondurables less food & beverages	191.669	191.489	194.276	7.3	1.4	1.5
Durables	90.239	90.777	90.609	-2.4	0.4	-0.2
Services	341.507	342.481	344.466	4.6	0.9	0.6
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	256.666	257.804	259.171	4.3	1.0	0.5
All items less shelter	230.487	230.417	231.225	2.8	0.3	0.4
Commodities less food	144.332	144.508	145.780	3.5	1.0	0.9
Nondurables	227.194	227.307	228.489	3.9	0.6	0.5
Nondurables less food	196.905	196.654	199.497	7.0	1.3	1.4
Services less rent of shelter(3)	342.924	342.052	343.165	3.1	0.1	0.3
Services less medical care services	329.484	331.367	333.230	5.1	1.1	0.6
Energy	283.532	287.009	281.307	12.1	-0.8	-2.0
All items less energy	266.950	267.425	269.273	3.4	0.9	0.7
All items less food and energy	268.484	268.939	271.259	3.8	1.0	0.9
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.