Consumer Expenditure Survey Compared 

with Personal Consumption Expenditures 

T

he U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Consumer 

Expenditure Survey (CE) data have been compared 

with corresponding expenditure data and estimates 

from other sources to evaluate the soundness of the CE 

estimates at any point in time and the consistency of the 

estimates over time. The primary role of post-survey 

evaluation, including data comparisons, is to assess the 

cumulative effects of nonsampling errors on the quality of 

the data obtained from the CE and to help in developing 

methods to improve data quality. Since the start of the 

ongoing CE in 1980, such comparisons have been a regular 

part of the CE program. 

The primary source of independent data for comparison 

over time has been the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) 

Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) of the National 

Income and Product Accounts (NIPA). The PCE has strengths 

and weaknesses. The streng1h of the PCE for this comparison 

is that estimates of aggregate expenditures for an extensive 

list of commodities are available. However, no source is 

without error. As the CE expenditures are subject to errors 

inherent in household surveys, the PCE data are subject to 

their own measurement errors and to judgment errors in the 

estimation and allocation of sales to the personal sector and 

other sectors of the accounts. 

Recent work by a team of researchers within BLS1 

suggests that earlier comparison methods needed to be 

reevaluated. The purpose of this article is to provide a 

quantitative comparison of the CE and PCE, and to qualify 

why differences exist between the two. Specifically, the article 

provides a description of CE and PCE methods, mcluding 

purposes, populations covered, defmitions of expenditures, 

and data collection for the CE and source data for the PCE; 

current comparison methodology developed and used by 

the CE based on type of expenditure (e.g., food, housing, or 

transportation) along with ratios of CE-to-PCE aggregate 

expenditures; and the reevaluated comparison methodology, 

whereby a different aggregation scheme was developed 

based on allocating detailed CE data, using Universal 

Classification Codes (UCCs ), to PCE categories by major type 

of product (i.e., durables, non-durables, services), in contrast 

to expense type. In this reevaluated method, adjustments 

are also made to PCE and CE expenditures, to make the data 

from the two sources comparable. 

' In April 2000, a team of researchers in the Divisions of Price and 

Index Number Research and of Consumer Expenditure Surveys was 

convened to compare the CE to the PCE. 

7 

For this analysis, CE-to-PCE comparisons are shown at 5-

year intervals using I 992, 1997, and 2002 data. These are the 

three most recent PCE benchmark years, although the 2002 

benchmarking has not been done yet. In addition, a brief 

comparison is done on 2003 data, since they were released 

prior to the completion of this analysis. Based on assessment 

of comparable items in the CE and PCE using the reevaluated 

methodology, CE aggregate expenditures were 88 percent of 

PCE aggregate expenditures in 1992. However, the ratio fell 

to 86 percent for 1997 and to 83 percent for 2002. When all 

items are used for comparison, CE aggregate expenditures 

were 67 percent of PCE in 1992. This ratio fell 2 percentage 

points by 1997 to 65 percent and 5 more to 60 percent, by the 

year 2002. 

Consumer Expenditure Survey Expenditures and 

Personal Consumption Expenditures 

The CE and PCE are designed to represent similar 

expenditures, however, different methods of measurement 

are used. The CE collects its data through household surveys 

and aggregates to the population, and the PCE makes 

estimates based on industry production and sales. There 

are several distinct differences in the expenditures that the 

CE and the PCE collect and the populations and data sources 

used by each. 

The CE collects data relating to consumer unit (CU) 

expenditures for goods and services used in day-to-day 

living. This is all that consumers spend, defined as 

transaction costs, and includes excise and sales taxes but 

excludes investments like mortgage principal payments. The 

CE is made up of two components to collect these data, a 

Diary Survey and an Interview Survey. Both of these surveys 

are administered by the U.S. Census Bureau. For the Diary 

Survey, respondents are asked to report all their purchases 

made each day for two consecutive 1-week periods. The 

Diary Survey is designed to obtain data on frequently 

purchased items, such as food or housekeeping supplies, 

which respondents are less likely to recall over time. For the 

Interview Survey, respondents report data to an interviewer. 

Each sample household is interviewed once per quarter, for 

five consecutive quarters. This survey is designed to collect 

data on major items of expense, such as property purchases 

or vehicle purchases, and those that occur on a regular basis, 

such as rent or utility payments, which respondents recall 

for up to 3 months. The Consumer Expenditure Survey 

includes all transactions paid for by the consumer including 

person-to-person transactions.