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Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov USDL-99-326

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

Media information: 202-691-5902 Tuesday, November 16, 1999

CONSUMER EXPENDITURES IN 1998

Average annual expenditures per consumer unit rose 2.1 percent in 1998, 

following increases of 3.0 percent in 1997 and 4.8 percent in 1996, according 

to results from the Consumer Expenditure Survey released by the Bureau of 

Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. The increase in 

expenditures from 1997 to 1998 was slightly larger than the 1.6 percent 

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

The percent changes in expenditures from 1997 to 1998 varied among the major 

components of spending. Expenditures on food showed little change in 1998, 

rising just 0.2 percent as a 3.5 percent decrease in spending on food at 

home largely offset the 5.7 percent increase in food away from home. 

Spending on personal insurance and pensions rose about 5 percent, on housing, 

about 4 percent, and on health care, 3.4 percent. Spending on entertainment 

and on apparel and services both decreased over the period, by 3.7 percent 

and 3.2 percent, respectively.

Annual expenditures of all consumer units and percent changes, 

Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1996-98

________________________________________________________________________

 Percent change

Item 1996 1997 1998 1996-97 1997-98

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of consumer 

 units (000's) 104,212 105,576 107,182

Income before taxes 1/ $38,014 $39,926 $41,622

Average age of 

 reference person 47.7 47.7 47.6

Average number in 

 consumer unit:

 Persons 2.5 2.5 2.5

 Earners 1.3 1.3 1.3

 Vehicles 1.9 2.0 2.0

Percent homeowner 64 64 64

Average annual 

 expenditures $33,797 $34,819 $35,535 3.0 2.1

 Food 4,698 4,801 4,810 2.2 .2

 At home 2,876 2,880 2,780 .1 -3.5

 Away from home 1,823 1,921 2,030 5.4 5.7
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 Housing 10,747 11,272 11,713 4.9 3.9

 Apparel and services 1,752 1,729 1,674 -1.3 -3.2

 Transportation 6,382 6,457 6,616 1.2 2.5

 Health care 1,770 1,841 1,903 4.0 3.4

 Entertainment 1,834 1,813 1,746 -1.1 -3.7

 Personal insurance 

 and pensions 3,060 3,223 3,381 5.3 4.9

 Other expenditures 3,555 3,684 3,693 3.6 .2

________________________________________________________________________

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 1998 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

Detailed reports that include integrated Consumer Expenditure (CE) Survey data 

are published at two-year intervals. The most recent two-year report includes 

CE Survey data for 1996 and 1997 and contains tables of average annual 

expenditures, income, and characteristics for the same classifications that 

are shown in the annual report but with additional detail. It was published 

in the fall of 1999. Also included are 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 two-year report also includes analyses of 

expenditure data as they apply to various topics of interest.

Tables with the same level of detail as shown in the two-year reports 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 1998 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 nonexpenditure information not found on the MTAB files. The Interview and 

Diary microdata files are available on CD-ROM back to 1990 and for selected 
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earlier years. Annual data are available on tape back to 1980. Microdata 

files with summary expenditure information from the Interview survey are 

available for 1984-94 on one CD-ROM. Tabulations of integrated data for 

1998 with more detail than is shown in this news release or in the annual 

report also are 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.