file:///U|/Desktop/test/PURLS%20for%20Perm/1996_cesan_100998.txt[11/26/2018 1:33:05 PM]

TEXT

Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov USDL-98-415

Technical information: 202-606-6900 FOR RELEASE: 10:00 A.M. EDT

Media information: 202-606-5902 Friday, October 9, 1998

 CONSUMER EXPENDITURES IN 1996

 Average annual expenditures per consumer unit rose 4.8 percent

in 1996, the largest increase since 1989, according to results from

the Consumer Expenditure Survey released by the Bureau of Labor

Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Expenditures rose 1.7

percent in 1995 and 3.4 percent in 1994. The increase in expenditures

from 1995 to 1996 was larger than the 3.0 percent annual average rise

in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) over this period.

 The percent changes in expenditures from 1995 to 1996 varied

among the major components of spending. Expenditures on entertainment

increased the most, 13.8 percent, followed by transportation, 6.1

percent, and food, 4.3 percent. Housing, apparel and services, and 

personal insurance and pensions each rose about 3 percent, while

health care spending rose just 2.2 percent. While total spending for

food rose 4.3 percent, spending on food away from home rose more than

food at home, 7.1 percent versus 2.6 percent. Consumer Expenditure

Survey data for 1994, 1995, and 1996 are shown below.

Annual expenditures of all consumer units and percent changes, 

Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1994-96

 Percent change

Item 1994 1995 1996 1994-95 1995-96

Number of consumer units (000's) 102,210 103,123 104,212

Income before taxes 1 $36,181 $36,918 $38,014

Average age of reference person 47.6 48.0 47.7

Average number in consumer unit:

 Persons 2.5 2.5 2.5

 Earners 1.3 1.3 1.3

 Vehicles 1.9 1.9 1.9

Percent homeowner 63 64 64

Average annual expenditures $31,731 $32,264 $33,797 1.7 4.8

 Food 4,411 4,505 4,698 2.1 4.3

 Food at home 2,712 2,803 2,876 3.4 2.6

 Food away from home 1,698 1,702 1,823 .2 7.1

 Housing 10,106 10,458 10,747 3.5 2.8

 Apparel and services 1,644 1,704 1,752 3.6 2.8

 Transportation 6,044 6,014 6,382 -.5 6.1

 Health care 1,755 1,732 1,770 -1.3 2.2

 Entertainment 1,567 1,612 1,834 2.9 13.8

 Personal insurance and pensions 2,938 2,964 3,060 .9 3.2

 Other expenditures 3,268 3,273 3,555 .2 8.6
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1 Income values are derived from "complete income reporters" only.

 Consumer Expenditure Survey data include the expenditures and 

income of consumers as well as the demographic characteristics of those

consumers. A soon-to-be-published report will include tables showing the

data classified by income quintile, income class, size of consumer unit,

number of earners, type of consumer unit, age of the reference person,

region of residence, housing tenure, type of area (urban-rural), race,

Hispanic origin, occupation, and education. These are standard

classifications that have been published in prior reports and bulletins.

Other available data

 Bulletins that include integrated Consumer Expenditure (CE) Survey 

data are published at two-year intervals. The next bulletin will include 

CE Survey data for 1996 and 1997 and will contain tables of average annual 

expenditures, income, and characteristics for the same classifications that 

are shown in the annual report but with additional detail. It will be 

published in the summer of 1999. Also included will be tables showing average 

annual data over a two-year period for the following characteristics: income 

before taxes cross-tabulated by either age, consumer unit size, or region; 

single consumers by gender cross-tabulated by either income or age; and 

selected Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). The bulletins also include 

analyses of expenditure data as they apply to various topics of interest. 

 Tables with the same level of detail as shown in the bulletins are 

available on the Internet by accessing the BLS site, 

http://stats.bls.gov/csxhome.htm. Other survey information is available on the

Internet, including answers to frequently asked questions, a glossary, and

order forms for survey products. The data are available back to 1984.

 The 1996 Diary and Interview microdata soon will be available on CD-ROM. 

The Interview files contain expenditure data in two different formats: MTAB

files that present monthly values in an item coding framework based on the CPI

pricing scheme, and EXPN files that organize expenditures by the section of the

Interview questionnaire in which they are collected. Expenditure values on the 

EXPN files cover different time periods depending on the specific question asked,

and the files also contain relevant non-expenditure information not found on the 

MTAB files. Annual data are available on tape back to 1980. The Interview and

Diary microdata files are available on CD-ROM back to 1990 and for selected

earlier years. Microdata files with summary expenditure information from the

Interview survey are available for 1984-94 on one CD-ROM. Tabulations of 

integrated data for 1996 with more detail than is shown in this news release or

in the annual report are also available.

 For further information, contact the Division of Consumer Expenditure 

Surveys, Office of Prices and Living Conditions, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 

2 Massachusetts Ave., N.E., Washington, DC 20212-0001 or call 202-606-6900. 

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired

individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-606-7828, TDD phone: 202-606-5897,

TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-326-2577.