Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

News Release Information

19-2151-SAN
Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Consumer Price Index, Los Angeles area – November 2019

Area prices were down 0.3 percent over the past month, up 3.2 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Los Angeles area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), decreased 0.3 percent in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the November decrease was influenced by lower prices for energy. (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 3.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.0 percent over the year. Energy prices rose 6.0 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. Food prices increased 3.1 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices edged down 0.1 percent for the month of November. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home inched down 0.1 percent, while prices for food at home were unchanged for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 3.1 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 4.6 percent since a year ago, and prices for food at home moved up 1.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 4.4 percent over the month. The decrease was mainly due to lower prices for gasoline (-4.3 percent). Prices for natural gas service fell 16.9 percent and prices for electricity decreased 0.3 percent for the same period.

Energy prices rose 6.0 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (8.8 percent). Prices paid for electricity increased 3.3 percent, but prices for natural gas service declined 7.0 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy were unchanged in November. Higher prices for other goods and services (2.1 percent) and shelter (0.6 percent) helped counter lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-3.2 percent) and apparel (-2.5 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.0 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (5.2 percent) and medical care (2.5 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in apparel (-1.2 percent) and recreation (-1.0 percent).

Table A. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month20152016201720182019
1-month12-month1-month12-month1-month12-month1-month12-month1-month12-month

January

-0.3-0.10.73.10.92.10.83.50.73.2

February

0.70.10.02.40.62.70.73.60.12.5

March

1.00.50.31.70.32.70.43.80.62.7

April

-0.10.50.22.00.22.70.44.01.03.3

May

1.01.10.51.40.32.50.44.10.23.1

June

-0.30.80.11.8-0.22.2-0.24.00.03.3

July

0.71.40.01.10.32.50.23.90.13.3

August

-0.31.10.01.40.32.80.23.90.03.0

September

-0.40.70.21.90.43.10.53.90.53.0

October

0.21.00.42.20.43.10.54.10.73.2

November

0.01.6-0.41.80.13.6-0.33.6-0.33.2

December

-0.12.00.02.00.03.6-0.33.2

The December 2019 Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles area is scheduled to be released on January 14, 2020

Consumer Price Index Geographic Revision for 2018

In January 2018, BLS introduced a new geographic area sample for the Consumer Price Index (CPI). As part of the new sample, Los Angeles and Riverside have separate indexes. Additional information on the geographic revision is available at: www.bls.gov/cpi/additional-resources/geographic-revision-2018.htm.


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.

able 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

IndexesPercent change from-
Sep.
2019
Oct.
2019
Nov.
2019
Nov.
2018
Sep.
2019
Oct.
2019

Expenditure category

All items

276.054278.075277.2393.20.4-0.3

All items (1967=100)

815.585821.558819.088---

Food and beverages

268.178268.773268.2322.70.0-0.2

Food

269.243269.868269.7253.10.2-0.1

Food at home

256.546257.259257.1371.60.20.0

Cereals and bakery products

273.250276.331273.0132.7-0.1-1.2

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

279.039280.590284.7482.42.01.5

Dairy and related products

244.890249.190252.2314.93.01.2

Fruits and vegetables

344.965347.434341.3671.1-1.0-1.7

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

258.029253.321255.707-1.5-0.90.9

Other food at home

199.400198.414197.0470.7-1.2-0.7

Food away from home

278.875279.400279.2374.60.1-0.1

Food away from home

278.875279.400279.2374.60.1-0.1

Alcoholic beverages

237.594237.752231.925-3.3-2.4-2.5

Housing

318.579319.381319.3704.60.20.0

Shelter

367.156368.322370.4345.20.90.6

Rent of primary residence(2)

389.477391.895393.1795.41.00.3

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)

381.832382.524384.0104.80.60.4

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)

381.810382.502383.9884.80.60.4

Fuels and utilities

332.808337.793326.6981.7-1.8-3.3

Household energy

285.017290.446276.7250.8-2.9-4.7

Energy services(2)

283.613288.848275.2030.7-3.0-4.7

Electricity(2)

326.491331.131330.0123.31.1-0.3

Utility (piped) gas service(2)

233.416240.518199.891-7.0-14.4-16.9

Household furnishings and operations

124.585122.880118.8880.9-4.6-3.2

Apparel

112.308109.325106.580-1.2-5.1-2.5

Transportation

217.643225.128221.1282.51.6-1.8

Private transportation

214.749222.627218.8372.91.9-1.7

New and used motor vehicles(4)

90.96991.18390.685-0.9-0.3-0.5

New vehicles(1)

168.792168.472168.689-0.1-0.10.1

Used cars and trucks(1)

265.859265.251263.523-0.9-0.9-0.7

Motor fuel

290.816319.939306.1428.75.3-4.3

Gasoline (all types)

284.163312.811299.2128.85.3-4.3

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

284.214313.280299.5908.65.4-4.4

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

274.830300.817287.6928.84.7-4.4

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

271.704297.181284.6508.94.8-4.2

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

777.794782.920782.9200.00.70.0

Medical care

480.073484.305485.2762.51.10.2

Recreation(6)

104.177107.776107.510-1.03.2-0.2

Education and communication(6)

149.287149.112149.2891.50.00.1

Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)

1,961.6201,959.5691,959.5692.7-0.10.0

Other goods and services

443.033441.100450.1464.41.62.1

Commodity and service group

All items

276.054278.075277.2393.20.4-0.3

Commodities

186.235188.209185.5731.9-0.4-1.4

Commodities less food & beverages

143.300145.669142.4091.3-0.6-2.2

Nondurables less food & beverages

196.346202.158196.8192.40.2-2.6

Durables

92.30591.68990.318-0.6-2.2-1.5

Services

355.989358.059358.8053.90.80.2

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

267.061268.989268.0893.30.4-0.3

All items less shelter

235.978238.399236.2181.90.1-0.9

Commodities less food

147.569149.910146.5421.1-0.7-2.2

Nondurables

233.824237.382234.1162.60.1-1.4

Nondurables less food

201.274206.858201.4202.00.1-2.6

Services less rent of shelter(3)

349.406352.824351.6111.90.6-0.3

Services less medical care services

344.269346.147346.8533.80.80.2

Energy

290.873311.941298.0726.02.5-4.4

All items less energy

277.256278.028278.0513.00.30.0

All items less food and energy

278.935279.732279.7813.00.30.0

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.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, December 11, 2019