Southern California inflation: Where it hits hardest

Southern California inflation may be running near two-year lows, but that doesn’t mean the cost of living isn’t still a pain in the wallet.

Just ponder local Consumer Price Indexes for March to see much-appreciated improvements for shoppers.

The overall annual inflation rate for Los Angeles and Orange counties was 3.7% vs. 5.1% in February and 8.5% a year ago. It’s the lowest since April 2021. In Riverside and San Bernardino counties, which have a bimonthly cost index, inflation ran at a 4.6% yearly pace for March vs. 7.3% in January vs. 10% a year ago. That’s the lowest since March 2021.

Nationwide prices were up 5% in the year ended in March, and 4.8% in Pacific states. San Diego saw a 5.3% jump and Honolulu, 3.3% .

Back story

Remember, inflation soared as the coronavirus upended the economy due to a combination of factors such as supply and labor shortages, the war in Ukraine disrupting global food supplies and overly aggressive financial aid from the government and the Federal Reserve.

In the past year, however, some supply shortages have eased. Plus, the Fed has ended its economic stimulus and turned toward cooling the business climate to chill what had been 40-year highs of inflation rates.

The result has been a mixed drop in inflation.

Consider that the CPI shows prices of “durables” – big-ticket items like vehicles, appliances and furniture – fell 1.9% in L.A.-O.C. in a year and rose just 0.7% in the Inland Empire. “Nondurables” items – those bought and consumed frequently – saw prices up 1.2% in L.A.-O.C. and 0.8% in I.E.

But workers remain hard to find, pushing wages up sharply. That means inflation stays hot for labor-intensive services. Getting somebody to do something costs 5.5% more in L.A.-O.C. and jumped 7.2% in I.E.

By the slice

How the past year’s price patterns played out within narrower slices of local consumer spending …

Dining out: The CPI says the cost is up 7.8% in L.A.-O.C. and 11% in the Inland Empire.