Prices in the Los Angeles area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.7 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden noted that the February increase was influenced by higher prices for gasoline 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 inched up 0.1 percent.  (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices fell 16.9 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.2 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices were unchanged for the month of February. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home declined 0.4 percent, but prices for food away from home rose 0.5 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 3.5 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 3.6 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home rose 3.4 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 6.4 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (11.8 percent). Prices for electricity were unchanged, while prices for natural gas service declined 0.4 percent for the same period.

Energy prices fell 16.9 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-25.6 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service declined 5.7 percent, but prices for electricity rose 0.5 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 February. The increase was primarily due to higher prices for apparel (1.2 percent), household furnishings and operations (1.0 percent), and shelter (0.3 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were lower prices for medical care (-1.3 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.2 percent. Higher prices for shelter (3.1 percent) and other goods and services (0.9 percent) were partially offset by price declines in recreation (-2.6 percent), household furnishings and operations (-1.6 percent), and apparel (-1.6 percent).

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

Month	2010		2011		2012		2013		2014		2015
	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual
January	0.4	1.8	0.9	1.8	0.8	2.1	0.8	2.0	0.5	0.8	-0.3	-0.1
February	0.0	1.4	0.5	2.3	0.5	2.1	0.7	2.2	0.5	0.5	0.7	0.1
March	0.4	1.9	1.1	3.0	1.0	2.0	0.1	1.3	0.6	1.0
April	0.2	1.9	0.5	3.3	0.0	1.5	-0.4	0.9	0.0	1.4
May	0.2	1.8	0.0	3.1	0.1	1.6	0.1	1.0	0.4	1.7
June	-0.2	0.9	-0.4	2.9	-0.4	1.6	-0.1	1.4	0.1	1.8
July	0.1	0.9	-0.4	2.4	-0.1	1.9	-0.1	1.3	0.1	2.0
August	0.2	0.8	0.2	2.4	0.6	2.3	0.1	0.8	-0.1	1.8
September	-0.1	0.4	0.5	3.1	0.4	2.2	0.2	0.6	0.0	1.7
October	0.3	0.7	0.0	2.8	0.8	3.0	0.1	-0.1	-0.1	1.4
November	-0.4	0.7	-0.1	3.0	-1.0	2.1	-0.5	0.4	-0.7	1.3
December	0.3	1.3	-0.5	2.2	-0.7	1.9	0.0	1.1	-0.5	0.7

The March 2015 Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County is scheduled to be released on April 17, 2015.

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 4,000 housing units and approximately 26,000 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-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: 1-800-877-8339.

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-
	Dec. 2014	Jan. 2015	Feb. 2015	Feb. 2014	Dec. 2014	Jan. 2015
Expenditure category
All items	240.475	239.724	241.297	0.1	0.3	0.7
All items (1967=100)	710.470	708.250	712.900	-	-	-
Food and beverages	248.373	248.959	248.892	3.5	0.2	0.0
Food	248.592	249.162	249.082	3.5	0.2	0.0
Food at home	259.048	260.007	259.032	3.6	0.0	-0.4
Food away from home	231.812	231.880	232.938	3.4	0.5	0.5
Alcoholic beverages	230.784	231.529	231.635	2.9	0.4	0.0
Housing	263.089	263.629	264.550	2.5	0.6	0.3
Shelter	296.369	297.583	298.537	3.1	0.7	0.3
Rent of primary residence (1)	310.326	311.244	312.124	3.6	0.6	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences (1) (2)	308.752	309.388	310.325	2.7	0.5	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence (1) (2)	308.746	309.380	310.319	2.7	0.5	0.3
Fuels and utilities	303.089	296.410	296.282	1.2	-2.2	0.0
Household energy	273.371	263.239	262.995	-1.4	-3.8	-0.1
Energy services (1)	272.074	262.078	261.782	-1.3	-3.8	-0.1
Electricity (1)	314.900	305.940	305.940	0.5	-2.8	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service (1)	220.590	207.746	206.883	-5.7	-6.2	-0.4
Household furnishings and operations	115.178	116.202	117.341	-1.6	1.9	1.0
Apparel	106.951	107.874	109.115	-1.6	2.0	1.2
Transportation	189.984	184.091	191.014	-8.8	0.5	3.8
Private transportation	184.663	178.621	185.603	-8.9	0.5	3.9
Motor fuel	219.410	196.162	219.228	-25.6	-0.1	11.8
Gasoline (all types)	214.466	191.752	214.426	-25.6	0.0	11.8
Gasoline, unleaded regular (3)	214.765	191.777	215.041	-25.7	0.1	12.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (3) (4)	206.660	184.785	203.866	-24.9	-1.4	10.3
Gasoline, unleaded premium (3)	204.481	184.240	204.587	-24.8	0.1	11.0
Medical care	424.437	424.232	418.580	-1.3	-1.4	-1.3
Recreation (5)	102.267	102.217	102.833	-2.6	0.6	0.6
Education and communication (5)	146.118	145.220	145.243	0.4	-0.6	0.0
Other goods and services	382.251	382.703	382.310	0.9	0.0	-0.1
Commodity and service group
All items	240.475	239.724	241.297	0.1	0.3	0.7
Commodities	173.170	171.908	174.376	-2.7	0.7	1.4
Commodities less food & beverages	133.745	131.745	135.194	-7.0	1.1	2.6
Nondurables less food & beverages	172.279	167.072	173.694	-9.6	0.8	4.0
Durables	95.992	97.022	97.456	-2.3	1.5	0.4
Services	300.033	299.803	300.456	1.7	0.1	0.2
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	232.363	231.600	233.401	0.2	0.4	0.8
All items less shelter	216.134	214.533	216.374	-1.6	0.1	0.9
Commodities less food	137.941	136.014	139.383	-6.5	1.0	2.5
Nondurables	211.115	208.578	212.127	-2.8	0.5	1.7
Nondurables less food	177.759	172.880	179.152	-8.7	0.8	3.6
Services less rent of shelter (2)	313.853	311.525	311.748	-0.1	-0.7	0.1
Services less medical care services	289.222	288.946	290.106	2.1	0.3	0.4
Energy	240.905	222.571	236.829	-16.9	-1.7	6.4
All items less energy	242.302	242.822	243.487	1.6	0.5	0.3
All items less food and energy	241.491	242.003	242.806	1.2	0.5	0.3
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.