Prices in the Los Angeles area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), were unchanged in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the expenditure categories with the largest opposing effects were higher shelter prices, offset by lower education and communication and gasoline prices. (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 rose 1.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices fell 18.1 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.2 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices inched up 0.1 percent for the month of July. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home advanced 0.3 percent, but prices for food at from home edged down 0.1 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 0.7 percent. Prices for food away from home increased 4.1 percent since a year ago, but prices for food at home decreased 1.7 percent.

Energy

The energy index was unchanged over the month. Higher prices for natural gas service (7.2 percent) were largely offset by lower gasoline prices (-1.3 percent). Prices for electricity rose 0.2 percent for the same period.

Energy prices fell 18.1 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-28.8 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service rose 5.9 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 2.2 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy was unchanged in July. Higher prices for other goods and services (0.9 percent) and shelter (0.5 percent) were offset by lower prices for apparel (-1.3 percent) and education and communication (-1.2 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.2 percent. Components contributing to the increase included medical care (10.3 percent) and shelter (4.5 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price declines in education and communication (-2.0 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-0.4 percent).

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

Month	2011		2012		2013		2014		2015		2016
	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual
January	0.9	1.8	0.8	2.1	0.8	2.0	0.5	0.8	-0.3	-0.1	0.7	3.1
February	0.5	2.3	0.5	2.1	0.7	2.2	0.5	0.5	0.7	0.1	0.0	2.4
March	1.1	3.0	1.0	2.0	0.1	1.3	0.6	1.0	1.0	0.5	0.3	1.7
April	0.5	3.3	0.0	1.5	-0.4	0.9	0.0	1.4	-0.1	0.5	0.2	2.0
May	0.0	3.1	0.1	1.6	0.1	1.0	0.4	1.7	1.0	1.1	0.5	1.5
June	-0.4	2.9	-0.4	1.6	-0.1	1.4	0.1	1.8	-0.3	0.8	0.1	1.8
July	-0.4	2.4	-0.1	1.9	-0.1	1.3	0.1	2.0	0.7	1.4	0.0	1.2
August	0.2	2.4	0.6	2.3	0.1	0.8	-0.1	1.8	-0.3	1.1
September	0.5	3.1	0.4	2.2	0.2	0.6	0.0	1.7	-0.4	0.7
October	0.0	2.8	0.8	3.0	0.1	-0.1	-0.1	1.4	0.2	1.0
November	-0.1	3.0	-1.0	2.1	-0.5	0.4	-0.7	1.3	0.0	1.6
December	-0.5	2.2	-0.7	1.9	0.0	1.1	-0.5	0.7	-0.1	2.0

The August 2016 Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County is scheduled to be released on September 16, 2016.

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/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: (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-
	May 2016	Jun. 2016	Jul. 2016	Jul. 2015	May 2016	Jun. 2016
Expenditure category
All items	249.671	249.947	249.936	1.2	0.1	0.0
All items (1967=100)	737.638	738.454	738.422	-	-	-
Food and beverages	250.510	251.004	251.194	0.8	0.3	0.1
Food	250.598	251.154	251.326	0.7	0.3	0.1
Food at home	253.763	254.595	254.255	-1.7	0.2	-0.1
Food away from home	242.937	243.144	243.944	4.1	0.4	0.3
Alcoholic beverages	234.374	233.951	234.378	1.4	0.0	0.2
Housing	276.055	276.626	277.721	3.8	0.6	0.4
Shelter	314.443	315.521	317.028	4.5	0.8	0.5
Rent of primary residence (1)	328.735	329.915	331.727	4.7	0.9	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of residences (1) (2)	326.200	327.546	329.343	4.5	1.0	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence (1) (2)	326.181	327.527	329.324	4.5	1.0	0.5
Fuels and utilities	300.793	300.817	301.456	2.2	0.2	0.2
Household energy	261.547	261.739	266.117	2.6	1.7	1.7
Energy services (1)	260.877	260.003	264.979	2.7	1.6	1.9
Electricity (1)	298.389	296.613	297.137	2.2	-0.4	0.2
Utility (piped) gas service (1)	219.975	220.986	236.801	5.9	7.6	7.2
Household furnishings and operations	115.949	114.955	114.741	-0.4	-1.0	-0.2
Apparel	113.211	109.947	108.518	1.9	-4.1	-1.3
Transportation	195.090	195.993	194.234	-9.5	-0.4	-0.9
Private transportation	188.844	190.370	189.800	-9.5	0.5	-0.3
Motor fuel	217.766	223.300	220.516	-28.8	1.3	-1.2
Gasoline (all types)	213.204	218.530	215.797	-28.8	1.2	-1.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular (3)	213.511	218.907	216.123	-29.2	1.2	-1.3
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (3) (4)	204.417	209.352	207.820	-27.1	1.7	-0.7
Gasoline, unleaded premium (3)	204.179	208.968	206.368	-27.5	1.1	-1.2
Medical care	462.437	468.661	468.604	10.3	1.3	0.0
Recreation (5)	107.517	106.631	106.964	2.6	-0.5	0.3
Education and communication (5)	145.504	145.366	143.580	-2.0	-1.3	-1.2
Other goods and services	391.155	386.699	390.008	1.4	-0.3	0.9
Commodity and service group
All items	249.671	249.947	249.936	1.2	0.1	0.0
Commodities	174.696	174.677	174.221	-3.9	-0.3	-0.3
Commodities less food & beverages	134.916	134.689	133.993	-7.4	-0.7	-0.5
Nondurables less food & beverages	175.031	175.862	174.586	-9.6	-0.3	-0.7
Durables	95.607	94.331	94.207	-3.3	-1.5	-0.1
Services	316.380	316.920	317.310	4.1	0.3	0.1
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	240.467	240.514	240.505	0.6	0.0	0.0
All items less shelter	221.452	221.364	220.661	-0.8	-0.4	-0.3
Commodities less food	139.214	138.979	138.304	-6.9	-0.7	-0.5
Nondurables	213.679	214.374	213.744	-4.1	0.0	-0.3
Nondurables less food	180.641	181.421	180.214	-8.8	-0.2	-0.7
Services less rent of shelter (2)	328.240	327.996	326.745	3.5	-0.5	-0.4
Services less medical care services	303.974	304.460	304.893	3.6	0.3	0.1
Energy	235.379	238.883	238.837	-18.1	1.5	0.0
All items less energy	252.645	252.679	252.671	2.8	0.0	0.0
All items less food and energy	253.327	253.273	253.235	3.2	0.0	0.0
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.