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Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov    USDL-98-415
Technical information:    202-606-6900    FOR RELEASE:  10:00 A.M. EDT
Media information:        202-606-5902    Friday, October 9, 1998

                   CONSUMER EXPENDITURES IN 1996

      Average annual expenditures per consumer unit rose 4.8 percent
in 1996, the largest increase since 1989, according to results from
the Consumer Expenditure Survey released by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor.  Expenditures rose 1.7
percent in 1995 and 3.4 percent in 1994.  The increase in expenditures
from 1995 to 1996 was larger than the 3.0 percent annual average rise
in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) over this period.

      The percent changes in expenditures from 1995 to 1996 varied
among the major components of spending.  Expenditures on entertainment
increased the most, 13.8 percent, followed by transportation, 6.1
percent, and food, 4.3 percent.  Housing, apparel and services, and 
personal insurance and pensions each rose about 3 percent, while
health care spending rose just 2.2 percent.  While total spending for
food rose 4.3 percent, spending on food away from home rose more than
food at home, 7.1 percent versus 2.6 percent.  Consumer Expenditure
Survey data for 1994, 1995, and 1996 are shown below.

Annual expenditures of all consumer units and percent changes, 
Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1994-96

                                                                 Percent change
Item                                   1994     1995    1996    1994-95  1995-96
Number of consumer units (000's)    102,210  103,123 104,212
Income before taxes 1               $36,181  $36,918 $38,014
Average age  of  reference person      47.6     48.0    47.7
Average number in consumer unit:
  Persons                               2.5      2.5     2.5
  Earners                               1.3      1.3     1.3
  Vehicles                              1.9      1.9     1.9
Percent homeowner                        63       64      64

Average annual expenditures         $31,731  $32,264  $33,797        1.7     4.8
  Food                                4,411    4,505    4,698        2.1     4.3
    Food at home                      2,712    2,803    2,876        3.4     2.6
    Food away from home               1,698    1,702    1,823         .2     7.1
  Housing                            10,106   10,458   10,747        3.5     2.8
  Apparel and services                1,644    1,704    1,752        3.6     2.8
  Transportation                      6,044    6,014    6,382        -.5     6.1
  Health care                         1,755    1,732    1,770       -1.3     2.2
  Entertainment                       1,567    1,612    1,834        2.9    13.8
  Personal insurance and pensions     2,938    2,964    3,060         .9     3.2
  Other expenditures                  3,268    3,273    3,555         .2     8.6

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
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

      Bulletins that include integrated Consumer Expenditure (CE) Survey 
data are published at two-year intervals.  The next bulletin will include 
CE Survey data for 1996 and 1997 and will contain tables of average annual 
expenditures, income, and characteristics for the same classifications that 
are shown in the annual report but with additional detail.  It will be 
published in the summer of 1999.  Also included will be 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 bulletins also include 
analyses of expenditure data as they apply to various topics of interest.  

      Tables with the same level of detail as shown in the bulletins 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 1996 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.  Annual data are available on tape back to 1980.  The Interview and
Diary microdata files are available on CD-ROM back to 1990 and for selected
earlier years.  Microdata files with summary expenditure information from the
Interview survey are available for 1984-94 on one CD-ROM.  Tabulations of 
integrated data for 1996 with more detail than is shown in this news release or
in the annual report are also 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.