1 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS • bls.gov

Overview of the 

Consumer Expenditure 

Surveys Program

Scott Curtin

Consumer Expenditure Surveys Program

CE Microdata Users’ Workshop

August 31, 2020
2 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS • bls.gov

Topics

1. CE Program Overview

2. CE Products

3. CE Data Use 
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CE Program Mission

 The mission of the CE is to collect, process, and disseminate 

information that presents a statistical picture of consumer 

spending for the Consumer Price Index, government 

agencies, and private data users. 

 This mission encompasses analyzing CE data to produce 

socio-economic studies of consumer spending, and 

providing CE data users with assistance, education, and tools 

for working with the data.
4 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS • bls.gov

CE Survey Overview

 CE data are collected for BLS by the U.S. Census Bureau, 

from consumer units (CUs), in other words people living at 

one address who share living expenses (in most cases, CUs 

are the same as households)

 The sample frame is a national probability sample of 

households designed to be representative of the U.S. civilian 

noninstitutionalized population

 Respondents report dollar amounts for all non-investment 

purchases; business expenses and reimbursements are 

excluded
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Sample Selection

• Geographic areas are randomly selected to 

represent the total U.S. 

• Households are randomly selected to represent the 

geographic areas

• Guiding principle:

“Randomness ensures representativeness.”
6 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS • bls.gov

CE Survey Overview

 CE data consist of estimates derived from two separate 

surveys

 The Quarterly Interview Survey is designed to collect data 

on large and recurring expenditures that consumers can be 

expected to recall for a period of 3 months or longer, such as 

rent and utilities (approximately 6,000 interviews/quarter)

 The Diary Survey is designed to collect data on small, 

frequently purchased items, including most food and 

clothing (approximately 3,000 diaries/quarter)
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Quarterly Interview Survey Design

 The Interview Survey collects detailed data on about 60 to 70 

percent of total family expenditures. 

 Global estimates are obtained for food and other selected items 

such as alcoholic beverages and tobacco products. These 

account for an additional 20 to 25 percent of total expenditures. 

 On average, it takes 60 minutes to complete the interview.
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Diary Survey

 Designed primarily to collect detailed data on small, frequently 

purchased items which would be difficult to recall in a quarterly interview

 Each CU is assigned two consecutive 7-day diaries with two personal 

visits 

 Approximately 6,200 annual CU interviews (12,400 completed diaries)

 At BLS, each Diary week is treated separately for estimation purposes
9 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS • bls.gov

Topics

1. CE Program Overview

2. CE Products

3. CE Data Use 
10 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS • bls.gov

Products

 Tables

 Regular Production: https://www.bls.gov/cex/tables.htm

 Research: https://www.bls.gov/cex/csxresearchtables.htm

 LABSTAT 

 Database: https://www.bls.gov/cex/data.htm

 Public Use Microdata (PUMD)

 Data Files: https://www.bls.gov/cex/pumd_data.htm

 Publications 

 News Release: https://www.bls.gov/cex/news.htm

 Beyond the Numbers: https://www.bls.gov/cex/csxwebarticles.htm

 Monthly Labor Review: https://www.bls.gov/cex/csxart.htm

 Spotlight on Statistics: https://www.bls.gov/cex/csxspotlight.htm

 Data Quality Profile (DQP): https://www.bls.gov/cex/cecomparison.htm#dqp
11 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS • bls.gov

CE Tables

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 Tables are created using several demographic characteristics:

o Age of reference person 

o Composition of consumer unit 

o Deciles of income before 

taxes 

o Generation of reference 

person 

o Highest education level of any 

member 

o Hispanic or Latino origin of 

reference person 

o Housing tenure 

o Income before taxes 

o Number of earners 

o Occupation of reference 

person 

o Population size of area of 

residence 

o Quintiles of income before 

taxes 

o Race of reference person 

o Region of residence 

o Size of consumer unit 

o Selected age of reference 

person 

o Type of area 
12 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS • bls.gov

CE Public Use Microdata (PUMD)

 Data files:

File types available include:

SAS (*.sas7bdat), STATA (*.dta), SPSS (*.sav), comma-delimited 

(*.csv) 

 Documentation: 

Getting Started Guide

 Supplementary resources:

Provide information regarding PUMD disclosure methods and 

requirements
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Patterns of Expenditures on Food away from Home

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Economic Analysis
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Index of healthcare spending and total spending, 2004-2018

100

125

150

175

200

2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018

Healthcare

Expenditure

Index

Total

Expenditure

Index

Expenditure index, 

base 2004=100

Economic Analysis
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Economic Analysis

Shares of the five largest household expenditures for California, Florida, 

New York, New Jersey, and Texas, by category, 2018
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Research

 Quintiles of income before taxes:

California (HTM)

Florida (HTM)

New Jersey (HTM)

New York (HTM)

Texas (HTM)

 Utilizes 2 years of PUMD to estimate values.
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Topics

1. CE Program Overview

2. CE Products

3. CE Data Use 
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CE Data Use

 Associate expenditures and income of consumers with consumer 

characteristics

 Study the welfare of particular segments of the population

 Understanding the effects of policy changes on diverse 

socioeconomic groups

 Market research

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19 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS • bls.gov

CE and CPI

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Car

 Insurance

2.04%

Fast Food

2.40%

Other 

Lodging

 2.58%

Electricity 

2.70%

Full-service

Restaurants 

2.99%

Gasoline 4.44%

New Cars 

4.93%

Rent 

5.63%

Owner's 

Equivalent Rent

 23.72%
20 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS • bls.gov

CE Customers

 Government

 Consumer Price Index (CPI)

 Census Bureau (BOC)

 Defense Department (DoD)

 Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

 Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)

 Health and Human Services (HHS)

 Department of Agriculture (USDA)

 Media

 Market & Academic Research

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21 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS • bls.gov

CE Data in Recent External Publications

Generational Spending

 Why Do Millennials Hate Groceries?, The Atlantic

Regional Spending

 San Diego ranked No. 1 booziest city in America, FOX 5 San Diego

Health Care Spending

 The Financial Burden of Health Care Spending, Kaiser Family 

Foundation

Policy Analysis

 Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Begins To Have Positive Impact On 

Spending Intentions, Forbes

 Annual report on US consumption poverty: 2017 - AEI, AEI
Contact Information

22 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS • bls.gov

Scott Curtin

Consumer Expenditure Surveys Program

(202) 691-6233 | curtin.scott@bls.gov