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

Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) 

Public-Use Microdata (PUMD) File 

Structure

Taylor Wilson

Economist

Division of Consumer Expenditure Surveys

CE Microdata User’s Workshop

July 19 - 21, 2017
2 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

What Are Microdata?

 “In the study of survey and census data, microdata are 

information at the level of individual respondents.” –

Wikipedia

 Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) Public-Use Microdata

(PUMD) consists of consumer unit level characteristics, 

income, and expenditure data as well as member level 

characteristics and income data.

 Data are provided through various file types.

2
3 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

File Naming Conventions

 Naming conventions used for each PUMD release are common 

to both Interview and Diary data. 

YY = Year

Q = Quarter

FMLI for Q1 of 2015  FMLI151 or FMLI151x

 The “X” signifies that the first quarter file of the current 

calendar year release is not identical to the fifth quarter file of 

the previous calendar year release.

3
4 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS • bls.gov

The Interview Survey
5 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

Interview Quarterly Files

 An Interview “quarter” refers to the calendar quarter in which 

the interview occurred. 

April, May, or June interview data are stored in the quarter 2 (YYQ2) 

datasets. 

 Reference period of three months (recall interview). 

April (YYQ2) interview refers to January, February, and March 

expenditures

5
6 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

Interview Quarterly Files

 FMLI - Characteristics, income, weights, and summary level 

expenditures for the Consumer Unit (CU) as a whole. 

 MEMI - Characteristics and income for each member in the CU. 

 MTBI - Detailed monthly expenditures. 

 ITBI - CU monthly income.

 ITII - CU monthly imputed income.

 NTAXI - Federal and state tax information for each tax unit in 

the CU.

6
7 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

FMLI

7

Note: Not all the variables in the FMLI file are shown in the sample below

NEWID QINTRVMO QINTRVYR FAM_TYPE REF_RACE FINCBTXM EDUCAPQ EDUCACQ FINLWT21 WTREP01

1 2649225 1 2014 1 1 105993.1 0 0 16314.976 NA

2 2659655 2 2014 8 1 32945.4 40 20 19811.63 38898.772

3 2707304 3 2014 7 6 78756 0 0 1996.748 NA

4 2710564 3 2014 1 1 383110 0 0 22809.279 43627.037

5 2758602 2 2014 7 5 42666 0 0 20405.795 NA

6 2699665 5 2014 1 1 79108.2 0 0 22256.228 42140.843

7 2729605 8 2014 1 1 13991 0 0 16790.071 NA

8 2816652 7 2014 3 4 225125.6 18000 0 20201.087 42959.282

9 2819892 7 2014 3 1 11173.8 120 0 14619.78 NA

10 2838742 8 2014 8 1 44600 0 0 18727.206 NA

11 2782324 10 2014 3 1 102000 0 0 15364.597 NA

12 2875873 12 2014 8 1 4400 0 0 15827.888 NA

13 2927262 11 2014 8 1 17123 0 0 23832.29 NA
8 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

MEMI

8

Note: Not all the variables in the MEMI file are shown in the sample below

NEWID MEMBNO CU_CODE AGE EARNER EDUCA SEX MEMBRACE SALARYXM

1 2649225 1 1 65 2 4 2 1 NA

2 2649225 2 2 66 2 4 1 1 NA

3 2659655 1 1 46 1 7 2 1 32945.4

4 2816652 1 1 42 1 8 1 4 212937.2

5 2816652 2 2 39 2 8 2 1 NA

6 2816652 3 3 10 NA NA 2 6 NA

7 2816652 4 3 8 NA NA 2 6 NA

8 2816652 5 3 5 NA NA 2 6 NA
9 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

MTBI

9

Note: Not all the variables in the MTBI file are shown in the sample below

NEWID EXPNAME SEQNO ALCNO UCC REF_MO REF_YR COST COST_ PUBFLAG

1 2659655 JEDUCNET 3 0 670902 1 2014 20 D 2

2 2659655 JEDUCNET 3 0 670902 12 2013 20 D 2

3 2659655 JEDUCNET 3 0 670902 11 2013 20 D 2

4 2816652 JEDUCNET 27 0 670210 5 2014 18000 D 2

5 2816652 JEDUCNET 28 0 620310 4 2014 2800 D 2
10 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

ITBI

10

NEWID UCC REFMO REFYR VALUE VALUE_ PUBFLAG

1 2649225 900030 10 2013 1997.6 NA 2

2 2649225 900030 11 2013 1997.6 NA 2

3 2649225 900030 12 2013 1997.6 NA 2

4 2659655 5100 11 2013 18.9167 NA 2

5 2659655 5100 12 2013 18.9167 NA 2

6 2659655 5100 1 2014 18.9167 NA 2

7 2659655 900000 11 2013 2745.45 NA 2

8 2659655 900000 12 2013 2745.45 NA 2

9 2659655 900000 1 2014 2745.45 NA 2

10 2816652 900000 4 2014 17744.7704 T 2

11 2816652 900000 5 2014 17744.7704 T 2

12 2816652 900000 6 2014 17744.7704 T 2
11 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

ITII

11

NEWID UCC REFMO REFYR IMPNUM VALUE VALUE_ PUBFLAG

1 2649225 900030 11 2013 1 2284 NA 2

2 2649225 900030 11 2013 2 2369 NA 2

3 2649225 900030 11 2013 3 2034 NA 2

4 2649225 900030 11 2013 4 2164 NA 2

5 2649225 900030 11 2013 5 1137 NA 2

6 2659655 900000 11 2013 1 2983.9167 NA 2

7 2659655 900000 11 2013 2 2785.4167 NA 2

8 2659655 900000 11 2013 3 2624.4167 NA 2

9 2659655 900000 11 2013 4 2741.9167 NA 2

10 2659655 900000 11 2013 5 2591.5833 NA 2

11 2816652 900000 4 2014 1 17744.7704 T 2

12 2816652 900000 4 2014 2 17744.7704 T 2

13 2816652 900000 4 2014 3 17744.7704 T 2

14 2816652 900000 4 2014 4 17744.7704 T 2

15 2816652 900000 4 2014 5 17744.7704 T 2
12 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

NTAXI

12

NEWID TAX_UNIT DEPCNT FILESTAT TAXYR_CY TAXYR_PY WAGE_HD WAGE_SP OTHTXINC SOSSECB

1 2649225 1 0 2 2013 2012 0 0 0 23971

2 2659655 1 0 1 2013 2012 32945 0 0 0

3 2816652 1 3 2 2013 2012 212937 0 12188 0

Note: Not all the variables in the MTBI file are shown in the sample below
13 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

Interview Annual Files

 EXPN - Annual expenditures (about 50 separate files)

Each file covers a class of expenditures such as vehicles and is 

derived from its corresponding section of the questionnaire.

 FPAR - Data about the survey.

 MCHI - Data about the contact history between the field 

representative and the respondent.

13
14 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

EDA (EXPN)

14

NEWID QYEAR SEQNO ALCNO REC_ORIG JEDUCNET EDUC_AY EDSCHL_A EDMONTHA

1 2659655 20141 3 0 1 20 360 NA 13

2 2816652 20143 27 0 1 18000 300 2 5

3 2816652 20143 28 0 1 2800 100 NA 4
15 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

FPAR

NEWID QYEAR OUTCOME HOW_INTV HSG_UNIT INFOBOOK LANGUAGE RECORDS

2816652 20143 201 6 1 5 1 1

2649225 20141 201 6 1 5 1 4

2659655 20141 201 1 6 4 1 4

Note: Not all the variables in the FPAR file are shown in the sample below
16 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

MCHI

Note: Not all the variables in the MCHI file are shown in the sample below

NEWID QYEAR CNTCKEY VISIT_YR VISIT_MO VISTWKDY CTSTATUS CTTYPE INTERI

1 2649225 20141 506 2014 1 1 1 2 5

2 2649225 20141 507 2014 1 2 1 1 5

3 2659655 20141 501 2014 2 1 1 3 5

4 2659655 20141 506 2014 2 7 1 3 5

5 2659655 20141 507 2014 2 7 1 1 5

6 2816652 20143 205 2014 7 6 1 3 2

7 2816652 20143 208 2014 7 1 1 1 2
17 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS • bls.gov

The Diary
18 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

Diary Files

 A Diary “quarter” refers to the calendar quarter in which the 

Diary booklet was placed in the home of the CU by the Census 

Field Representative. 

 All Diary files are organized as quarterly files.

 A CU reports expenditures for two separate weeks.

 Each week’s diary is a separate record for each CU.

 Most Diary files are analogous to Interview files.

18
19 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

Diary Quarterly Files

 FMLD - a file with characteristics, income, weights, and 

summary level expenditures for the CU.

 MEMD - a file with characteristics and income for each 

member in the CU. 

 EXPD - Detailed weekly expenditures.

 DTBD - Detailed annual income. 

 DTID - CU imputed income.

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

Two Ways to Organize the Data
21 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

FMLI

NEWID QINTRVMO QINTRVYR FAM_TYPE REF_RACE FINCBTXM EDUCAPQ EDUCACQ FINLWT21 WTREP01

8 2816652 7 2014 3 4 225125.6 18000 0 20201.087 42959.282

Total Education Expenditures: 

$18,000
22 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

FMLI

NEWID QINTRVMO QINTRVYR FAM_TYPE REF_RACE FINCBTXM EDUCAPQ EDUCACQ FINLWT21 WTREP01

8 2816652 7 2014 3 4 225125.6 18000 0 20201.087 42959.282

EDA (EXPN)

NEWID QYEAR SEQNO ALCNO JEDUCNET EDUC_AY EDSCHL_A EDMONTHA

2 2816652 20143 27 0 18000 300 2 5

3 2816652 20143 28 0 2800 100 NA 4

Additional $2,800 ???
23 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

FMLI

NEWID QINTRVMO QINTRVYR FAM_TYPE REF_RACE FINCBTXM EDUCAPQ EDUCACQ FINLWT21 WTREP01

8 2816652 7 2014 3 4 225125.6 18000 0 20201.087 42959.282

EDA (EXPN)

NEWID QYEAR SEQNO ALCNO JEDUCNET EDUC_AY EDSCHL_A EDMONTHA

2 2816652 20143 27 0 18000 300 2 5

3 2816652 20143 28 0 2800 100 NA 4

EDUC_AY:

Code 100 – Fees for recreational lessons

Code 300 – Tuition
24 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

From the Questionnaire
25 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

From the Dictionary
26 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

From the Interview Stub File
27 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

MTBI

FMLI

NEWID QINTRVMO QINTRVYR FAM_TYPE REF_RACE FINCBTXM EDUCAPQ EDUCACQ FINLWT21 WTREP01

8 2816652 7 2014 3 4 225125.6 18000 0 20201.087 42959.282

NEWID SEQNO ALCNO EXPNAME COST UCC COST_ REF_MO REF_YR PUBFLAG

4 2816652 27 0 JEDUCNET 18000 670210 D 5 2014 2

5 2816652 28 0 JEDUCNET 2800 620310 D 4 2014 2

EDA (EXPN)

NEWID QYEAR SEQNO ALCNO JEDUCNET EDUC_AY EDSCHL_A EDMONTHA

2 2816652 20143 27 0 18000 300 2 5

3 2816652 20143 28 0 2800 100 NA 4
28 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS TATISTICS • bls.gov bls.gov

Organizing Expenditure Categories

 Interview EXPN files are organized according to the survey 

questionnaires.

Use the corresponding survey dictionary for all variables

 MTBI and Diary EXPD files are organized according to 

hierarchical groupings for publication

Use the corresponding stub file for UCC definitions

 FMLI and FMLD file summary variables aggregated using UCC 

groupings
Contact Information

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

Taylor J. Wilson

Economist

Division of Consumer Expenditure Surveys

202-691-6550

Wilson.Taylor@bls.gov
30 — U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS • bls.gov