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Internet address:           http://stats.bls.gov         USDL-98-482
Technical information:      202-606-6900                 FOR RELEASE:  10:00 A.M. EST
Media information:          202-606-5902                 Tuesday, December 8, 1998


                              CONSUMER EXPENDITURES IN 1997

Average annual expenditures per consumer unit rose at a moderate rate of 3.0 
percent in 1997, following a 4.8 percent increase in 1996, 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 1996 to 1997 was slightly larger than the 2.3 percent 
annual average rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) over this period.

The percent changes in expenditures from 1996 to 1997 varied among the major 
components of spending.  Expenditures on personal insurance and pensions and on 
housing each rose about 5 percent, while spending on health care rose about 4 percent.  
Food expenditures rose 2.2 percent, mainly for food away from home.  Transportation
spending rose 1.2 percent.  Spending on entertainment decreased about 1 percent in 
1997, following a large 14 percent increase a year earlier.  Apparel and services
expenditures also decreased about 1 percent in 1997.



Annual expenditures of all consumer units and percent changes, 
Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1995-97

                                                                 Percent change
         Item                         1995     1996     1997  1995-96     1996-97
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Number of consumer units (000's)   103,123  104,212  105,576          
Income before taxes 1              $36,918  $38,014  $39,926          
Average age of reference person       48.0     47.7     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      2.0          
Percent homeowner                       64       64       64          
                         
Average annual expenditures        $32,264  $33,797  $34,819      4.8         3.0
  Food                               4,505    4,698    4,801      4.3         2.2
    At home                          2,803    2,876    2,880      2.6         0.1
    Away from home                   1,702    1,823    1,921      7.1         5.4
  Housing                           10,458   10,747   11,272      2.8         4.9
  Apparel and services               1,704    1,752    1,729      2.8        -1.3
  Transportation                     6,014    6,382    6,457      6.1         1.2
  Health care                        1,732    1,770    1,841      2.2         4.0
  Entertainment                      1,612    1,834    1,813     13.8        -1.1
  Personal insurance and pensions    2,964    3,060    3,223      3.2         5.3
  Other expenditures                 3,273    3,555    3,684      8.6         3.6
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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 fall 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 1997 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.  
Annual data are available on tape back to 1980.  Microdata files with summary 
expenditure information from the Interview survey are available for 1984-94 on one 
CD-ROM.  Tabulations of integrated data for 1997 with more detail than is shown in
this news release or in the annual report also are 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.