Internet address: http://www.bls.gov/cex USDL-08-1746
Technical information: 202-691-6900 FOR RELEASE: 10:00 A.M. EST
Media information: 202-691-5902 Tuesday, November 25, 2008
CONSUMER EXPENDITURES IN 2007
Average annual expenditures per consumer unit, which is similar to a
household, rose 2.6 percent in 2007 following an increase of 4.3 percent in 2006,
according to results from the Consumer Expenditure Survey released by the Bureau
of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Spending kept pace with
inflation in 2007 as the increase in expenditures from 2006 to 2007 was close to
the 2.8 percent rise in the annual average Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) over
this period.
Moderate increases in spending on housing (3.4 percent), transportation
(2.9 percent), and food (0.4 percent), the three largest components of spending,
contributed to the small overall increase in 2007. Among the other major
components, spending increased for personal insurance and pensions (1.3 percent),
health care (3.1 percent), entertainment (13.6 percent), and apparel and
services (0.4 percent).
Average annual expenditures and characteristics of all consumer units and
percent changes, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2005-2007
_____________________________________________________________________________
Percent change
Item 2005 2006 2007 2005-2006 2006-2007
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of consumer
units (000’s) 117,356 118,843 120,171
Income before taxes $58,712 $60,533 $63,091
Average age of
reference person 48.6 48.7 48.8
Average number in
consumer unit:
Persons 2.5 2.5 2.5
Earners 1.3 1.3 1.3
Vehicles 2.0 1.9 1.9
Percent homeowner 67 67 67
Average annual
expenditures $46,409 $48,398 $49,638 4.3 2.6
Food 5,931 6,111 6,133 3.0 0.4
At home 3,297 3,417 3,465 3.6 1.4
Away from home 2,634 2,694 2,668 2.3 -1.0
Housing 15,167 16,366 16,920 7.9 3.4
Apparel and services 1,886 1,874 1,881 -0.6 0.4
Transportation 8,344 8,508 8,758 2.0 2.9
Health care 2,664 2,766 2,853 3.8 3.1
Entertainment 2,388 2,376 2,698 -0.5 13.6
Personal insurance
and pensions 5,204 5,270 5,336 1.3 1.3
Other expenditures 4,823 5,129 5,060 6.3 -1.3
_____________________________________________________________________________
Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) data include the expenditures and income
of consumers, as well as the demographic characteristics of those consumers.
Tables with more expenditure detail than is shown in this news release will be
available November 26, 2008 by accessing the BLS website (http://www.bls.gov/cex).
Tables show 2007 CE data by standard classifications that include income quintile,
income class, age of reference person, size of consumer unit, number of earners,
composition of consumer unit, region of residence, housing tenure, type of area
(urban-rural), race, Hispanic origin, occupation, and education. Other tables
available on the website include expenditures by age, region, size, or gender
cross-tabulated by income before taxes and other demographic variables.
Historical tables back to 1984 and tabulations for selected metropolitan areas
are also available.
In 2007 there were a number of revisions to the survey questionnaires to
capture new products and services that are available to consumers. This was the
latest in a series of periodic revisions to keep the surveys current with changes
in the marketplace. Also for 2007, a number of expenditure items changed survey
source from the Interview Survey to the Diary Survey or vice versa. Due to the
overlap in the item coverage between the two surveys, the survey source is
periodically reviewed and statistical methods are used to select the best source.
Other available data
A forthcoming annual report will include a brief discussion of expenditure
changes in 2007 and tables with data classified by the standard characteristics
listed above. Detailed reports that include CE data are published at two-year
intervals and include the standard tabulations and cross-tabulations at the same
level of expenditure detail as shown on the website. Metropolitan area tables
are also included. All data published in the reports and posted to the website
are integrated from the two CE components—-the quarterly Interview Survey and
weekly Diary Survey.
Other survey information available on the Internet includes answers to
frequently asked questions, a glossary, order forms for survey products, and
analytical articles that use CE data. Beginning with the 2000 data, standard
error tables for integrated data are available on the BLS site. Also available
are the Diary Survey questionnaire form and a modified version of the computer
assisted personal interview (CAPI) instrument used to collect the Interview
Survey data.
The 2007 Diary and Interview microdata will soon 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 EXPN
files cover different time periods depending on the specific questions asked,
and the files also contain relevant non-expenditure information not found on
the MTAB files. The CE microdata files are available on CD-ROM back to 1990 and
for selected earlier years. In addition to the standard ASCII and PC SAS formats
offered the past several years, three new formats will be offered for 2007—STATA,
SPSS, and ASCII comma-delimited. CD purchasers will need to specify which format
they want. (See www.bls.gov/cex/csxmicro.htm for details.)
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 202-691-6900.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral
phone number: 1-800-877-8339.
United States Department of Labor
