Prices in the Los Angeles area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.8 percent in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the May increase was influenced by higher prices for food, shelter, and natural gas service. (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 8.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices rose 8.4 percent. Energy prices jumped 33.4 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 5.8 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 1.2 percent for the month of May. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home rose 1.6 percent as four categories rose, and two categories declined. Prices for food away from home increased 0.8 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 8.4 percent. Prices for food at home jumped 10.9 percent since a year ago, with prices rising in all six of the grocery categories. Prices for food away from home rose 5.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 3.6 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for natural gas service (19.4 percent). Prices for gasoline rose 2.5 percent, and prices for electricity rose 0.2 percent for the same period.

Energy prices jumped 33.4 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (44.1 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service moved up 23.5 percent, and prices for electricity advanced 14.6 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.4 percent in May. Higher prices for used cars and trucks (1.2 percent), medical care (1.0 percent), and shelter (0.4 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for household furnishings and operations (-0.2 percent) and apparel (-0.1 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 5.8 percent. Components contributing to the increase included new and used motor vehicles (12.1 percent), medical care (7.2 percent), and shelter (4.5 percent).

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

Month	2018		2019		2020		2021		2022
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.8	3.5	0.7	3.2	0.8	3.1	0.2	0.9	1.1	7.5
February	0.7	3.6	0.1	2.5	0.3	3.4	0.4	1.0	0.3	7.4
March	0.4	3.8	0.6	2.7	0.7	1.9	0.5	2.2	1.5	8.5
April	0.4	4.0	1.0	3.3	-0.3	0.7	1.1	3.6	0.5	7.9
May	0.4	4.1	0.2	3.1	0.4	0.9	0.6	3.9	0.8	8.0
June	-0.2	4.0	0.0	3.3	0.5	1.4	0.6	4.0
July	0.2	3.9	0.1	3.3	0.6	1.9	0.6	3.9
August	0.2	3.9	0.0	3.0	0.1	2.0	0.2	4.0
September	0.5	3.9	0.5	3.0	-0.3	1.2	0.3	4.6
October	0.5	4.1	0.7	3.2	0.2	0.7	0.9	5.4
November	-0.3	3.6	-0.3	3.2	0.1	1.0	0.6	6.0
December	-0.3	3.2	-0.6	3.0	-0.2	1.5	0.4	6.6

The June 2022 Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles area is scheduled to be released on July 13, 2022.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measures 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 U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. 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 6,000 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; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000.  Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods 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, CA metropolitan area includes Los Angeles and Orange Counties in California.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

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-
	Historical data	Mar. 2022	Apr. 2022	May 2022	May 2021	Mar. 2022	Apr. 2022
Expenditure category
All items		306.679	308.302	310.649	8.0	1.3	0.8
All items (1967=100)		906.065	910.861	917.795	-	-	-
Food and beverages		307.249	308.581	311.948	8.2	1.5	1.1
Food		308.115	309.222	312.963	8.4	1.6	1.2
Food at home		298.567	298.979	303.614	10.9	1.7	1.6
Cereals and bakery products		312.021	314.432	312.077	10.4	0.0	-0.7
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs		333.696	333.224	338.675	8.8	1.5	1.6
Dairy and related products		279.034	284.203	290.887	10.6	4.2	2.4
Fruits and vegetables		421.214	418.360	415.915	14.2	-1.3	-0.6
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)		291.248	284.238	293.392	6.8	0.7	3.2
Other food at home		224.184	227.000	234.486	12.7	4.6	3.3
Food away from home		312.426	314.422	316.880	5.6	1.4	0.8
Alcoholic beverages		275.507	279.900	277.827	5.8	0.8	-0.7
Housing		344.997	345.199	347.506	5.7	0.7	0.7
Shelter		391.014	393.393	395.023	4.5	1.0	0.4
Rent of primary residence(2)		414.737	416.441	417.907	3.7	0.8	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)		404.757	406.347	409.021	4.2	1.1	0.7
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)		404.733	406.323	408.998	4.2	1.1	0.7
Fuels and utilities		431.131	423.283	441.064	14.8	2.3	4.2
Household energy		387.909	378.542	399.349	17.7	2.9	5.5
Energy services(2)		385.556	376.317	397.047	17.5	3.0	5.5
Electricity(2)		449.175	437.223	437.937	14.6	-2.5	0.2
Utility (piped) gas service(2)		307.719	302.477	361.105	23.5	17.3	19.4
Household furnishings and operations		135.380	130.758	130.521	10.2	-3.6	-0.2
Apparel		118.761	115.276	115.215	4.1	-3.0	-0.1
Transportation		266.393	272.999	275.999	18.9	3.6	1.1
Private transportation		269.276	272.877	275.082	19.1	2.2	0.8
New and used motor vehicles(4)		108.100	110.535	110.365	12.1	2.1	-0.2
New vehicles(1)		189.915	191.967	193.326	10.3	1.8	0.7
Used cars and trucks(1)		392.079	389.987	394.741	15.5	0.7	1.2
Motor fuel		435.041	441.000	452.281	44.3	4.0	2.6
Gasoline (all types)		425.278	430.416	441.335	44.1	3.8	2.5
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)		427.284	432.301	443.440	44.6	3.8	2.6
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)		404.341	409.667	419.640	42.9	3.8	2.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)		402.677	408.099	417.782	42.1	3.8	2.4
Motor vehicle insurance(1)		-	-	-	-	-	-
Medical care		538.381	542.186	547.781	7.2	1.7	1.0
Recreation(6)		117.521	118.313	118.570	8.0	0.9	0.2
Education and communication(6)		151.545	152.197	152.518	3.7	0.6	0.2
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)		2,079.704	2,079.704	2,083.211	8.7	0.2	0.2
Other goods and services		476.838	479.117	482.482	3.6	1.2	0.7
Commodity and service group
All items		306.679	308.302	310.649	8.0	1.3	0.8
Commodities		215.759	216.387	218.383	12.2	1.2	0.9
Commodities less food & beverages		167.491	167.805	169.147	15.4	1.0	0.8
Nondurables less food & beverages		236.491	236.812	239.601	19.8	1.3	1.2
Durables		104.113	104.379	104.690	10.2	0.6	0.3
Services		386.484	389.020	391.649	5.9	1.3	0.7
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care		296.477	298.009	300.221	8.1	1.3	0.7
All items less shelter		269.412	270.699	273.374	10.4	1.5	1.0
Commodities less food		172.522	172.947	174.217	14.9	1.0	0.7
Nondurables		273.383	274.210	277.306	13.0	1.4	1.1
Nondurables less food		241.939	242.519	245.040	18.6	1.3	1.0
Services less rent of shelter(3)		390.423	393.244	397.438	8.0	1.8	1.1
Services less medical care services		372.207	374.671	377.026	5.7	1.3	0.6
Energy		418.559	418.382	433.563	33.4	3.6	3.6
All items less energy		301.947	303.689	305.278	6.2	1.1	0.5
All items less food and energy		300.952	302.803	304.024	5.8	1.0	0.4
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.