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Internet address: http://www.bls.gov/cex USDL-02-667

Technical information: 202-691-6900 FOR RELEASE: 10:00 A.M. EST

Media information: 202-691-5902 Tuesday, December 3, 2002

 CONSUMER EXPENDITURES IN 2001

 Average annual expenditures per consumer unit rose 3.9 percent in 2001, 

following increases of 2.8 percent in 2000 and 4.1 percent in 1999, 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 

2000 to 2001 was more than the 2.8 percent annual average rise in the Consumer 

Price Index (CPI) over this period.

 The changes in expenditures from 2000 to 2001 varied among the major 

components of spending and are not strictly comparable to previous data for some 

items. (See the Technical note on page 2.) Expenditures on personal insurance and 

pensions showed the largest increase, 11.1 percent. Spending on housing, 

health care, and entertainment also rose more than the overall average, ranging 

from 4.8 to 5.6 percent. Spending on food and transportation rose by 3.2 and 

2.9 percent, respectively, whereas spending on apparel and services decreased by 

6.1 percent.

Annual expenditures of all consumer units and percent changes, 

Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1999-2001

____________________________________________________________________________

 Percent change

Item 1999 2000 2001 1999-2000 2000-2001

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

Number of consumer

 units (000’s) 108,465 109,367 110,339

Income before taxes 1/ $43,951 $44,649 $47,507

Average age of 

 reference person 47.9 48.2 48.1

Average number in 

 consumer unit:

 Persons 2.5 2.5 2.5

 Earners 1.3 1.4 1.4

 Vehicles 1.9 1.9 1.9

Percent homeowner 65 66 66

Average annual

 expenditures $36,995 $38,045 $39,518 2.8 3.9

 Food 5,031 5,158 5,321 2.5 3.2

 At home 2,915 3,021 3,086 3.6 2.2

 Away from home 2,116 2,137 2,235 1.0 4.6

 Housing 12,057 12,319 13,011 2.2 5.6

 Apparel and services 1,743 1,856 1,743 6.5 -6.1

 Transportation 7,011 7,417 7,633 5.8 2.9
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 Health care 1,959 2,066 2,182 5.5 5.6

 Entertainment 1,891 1,863 1,953 -1.5 4.8

 Personal insurance

 and pensions 3,436 3,365 3,737 -2.1 11.1

 Other expenditures 3,868 4,001 3,939 3.4 -1.5

____________________________________________________________________________

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 2001 data classified 

by income quintile, income class, size of consumer unit, number of earners, 

composition of consumer unit, age of the reference person, region of residence, 

housing tenure, type of area (urban-rural), race, Hispanic origin, occupation, 

and education. 

Other available data

 Detailed reports that include integrated Consumer Expenditure (CE) 

Survey data are published at two-year intervals and contain tables of 

average annual expenditures, income, and characteristics for the same 

classifications that are shown in the annual report but with additional detail. 

The most recent two-year report included CE Survey data for 1998 and 1999 and 

was published in the fall of 2001. Also included in the two-year reports 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). 

 Tables with the same level of detail as shown in the two-year reports 

including more current tables are available on the Internet by accessing the 

BLS site (http://www.bls.gov/cex). Other survey information also 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. 

Beginning with the 2000 data, standard error tables for integrated Diary and 

Interview data are available on the BLS site.

 The 2001 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. 

The Interview and Diary microdata files are available on CD-ROM back to 1990 and 

for selected earlier years. Beginning with the 1996 microdata on CD-ROM, 

files are available in a choice of either ASCII format or PC SAS datasets.

Technical note

 Beginning in 2001, the Interview Survey includes information collected from 

respondents using income ranges or brackets in addition to discrete income amounts, 

as provided in the past. Respondents who are unable or unwilling to provide a 
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specific dollar amount may be able or willing to estimate a range for their incomes. 

The bracketed data should provide more reliable income estimates because they 

increase the percentage of households providing income data. This also affects 

expenditure components derived from income data. For example, the increase in 

personal insurance and pensions was largely due to increases in deductions for 

Social Security, which are computed from reported salary amounts.

 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 202-691-6900. Information in this 

release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. 

Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339.