“Swift swings” takes a quick peek at one economic trend.
The number: The cost of living in Los Angeles and Orange counties rose 3.4% in the year ended in February.
The source: My trusty spreadsheet looked at inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for the two-county region.
Quick analysis: Local inflation is up from 2.5% in January but down from 5.1% a year ago. Nationally, inflation ran 3.2% for February.
Tidbits
LA-OC inflation is by no means universal. Consider the one-year price swings in some goods and services tracked by the local CPI.
Let’s start with the increases …
Electricity: Up 5.1% in 12 months.
Dining out: Up 5%
Tuition and child care: 4.9%
Rent: Up 4.8%
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs: Up 3.9%
Education and communication: Up 3%
Medical care: Up 2.9%
Gasoline: Up 0.9%
Nonalcoholic beverages: Up 0.6%
Cereals and bakery products: Up 0.5%
Recreation: Up 0.3%
Flat? Fruits and vegetables and apparel.
And where prices actually declined …
Alcoholic beverages: Off 0.3%
Household furnishings and operations: Off 1.1%
New vehicles: Off 1.1%
Used cars and trucks: Off 1.8%
Dairy products: Off 3.6%
Utility gas service: Off 24.4%
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at [email protected]
Read the full article here
