CONSUMER EXPENDITURES MIDYEAR UPDATE--JULY 2015 THROUGH JUNE 2016 AVERAGE
For release: 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Wednesday, April 19, 2017 USDL-17-0443
Technical Information: (202) 691-6900 • CEXInfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/cex
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CONSUMER EXPENDITURES MIDYEAR UPDATE -- JULY 2015
THROUGH JUNE 2016 AVERAGE
Average expenditures per consumer unit(1) for July 2015 through June 2016
were up 2.3 percent compared with the July 2014 through June 2015 midyear
average, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Average
incomes also increased, up 6.3 percent.
Most major components of household spending increased over the 12 months
ending June 2016. (See table A.) The 8.3-percent rise in personal insurance
and pensions spending was the largest percentage increase among all major
components, followed by a 4.5-percent rise in both food and entertainment.
Table A. Average expenditures and income of all consumer units
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Percent change
July 2014- July 2015- July 2014 - June 2015
Item June 2015- June 2016- to
Average Average July 2015 - June 2016
--------------------------------------- ---------- ---------------------
Income before taxes $68,662 $72,990 6.3
Average annual expenditures 54,992 56,258 2.3
Food 6,887 7,196 4.5
Food at home 3,983 4,101 3.0
Food away from home 2,904 3,095 6.6
Housing 18,128 18,495 2.0
Apparel and services 1,885 1,794 -4.8
Transportation 9,315 9,225 -1.0
Gasoline 2,094 1,932 -7.7
Vehicle insurance 1,041 1,180 13.4
Healthcare 4,379 4,470 2.1
Entertainment 2,782 2,908 4.5
Cash contributions 1,761 1,813 3.0
Personal insurance and 6,048 6,553 8.3
pensions
Pensions and Social 5,733 6,221 8.5
Security
All other expenditures 3,807 3,804 -0.1
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Note: Subcategories do not sum to 100%.
Spending patterns, July 2015 – June 2016 compared with July 2014 – June 2015
• Spending for food increased 4.5 percent. The increase was driven by
food away from home which increased 6.6 percent while food at home
increased 3.0 percent.
• Healthcare spending rose 2.1 percent to $4,470 for July 2015 through
June 2016. The level of spending for healthcare has increased every year
annually from 1996 through 2015. The most recent increase was driven by
a 3.8-percent increase in average household health insurance
expenditures.
• Apparel and services spending decreased 4.8 percent to $1,794, after
rising 12.6 percent during the previous midyear period. Decreases were
seen across all components of this category with the exception of boys,
2 to 15, and other apparel products and services.
• Transportation expenditures edged down 1.0 percent to $9,225. Within
transportation, two underlying components moved in opposite directions:
vehicle insurance up 13.4 percent and gasoline down 7.7 percent.
• Entertainment spending increased 4.5 percent after rising 8.7 percent
the previous midyear period.
• Personal insurance and pensions expenditures continued an upward trend
and increased 8.3 percent following a 9.0 percent increase during the
previous midyear period. The 8.5 percent increase in pensions and Social
Security continued to fuel the overall growth in the category.
Spending by selected demographics
Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) data measure how consumers allocate their
spending among the various components of total expenditures. Table B compares
the share allocated to selected expenditures by income quintiles. The lowest
income quintile allocated larger shares to food and housing than all other
quintiles. The highest income quintile allocated a larger share to personal
insurance and pensions (including payments for life insurance, other nonhealth
insurance, pensions, and Social Security) than any other group. No clear
pattern existed for the shares allocated to transportation and healthcare
among the income quintile groups.
Table B. Shares of average expenditures on selected major components by
income quintiles, July 2015 through June 2016
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Income quintiles
Lowest Second Third Fourth Highest
Item 20th 20th 20th 20th 20th
percent percent percent percent percent
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Food 15.2 14.4 13.0 13.4 11.3
Housing 40.7 37.3 34.2 32.2 29.6
Transportation 14.6 16.0 18.8 16.7 15.7
Healthcare 8.4 9.7 8.8 8.4 6.6
Personal insurance 2.5 4.9 8.7 12.2 16.6
& pensions
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Table C shows average expenditures and income before taxes by quintile from
July 2014 through June 2016. All quintiles showed increases in income before
taxes across the 12 months ending June 2016. Only the lowest quintile showed
a decrease in expenditures.
Table C. Percent change in average annual expenditures and income before
taxes by income quintile
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Average annual expenditures Income before taxes
July 2014- July 2015- Percent July 2014- July 2015- Percent
Income quintile June 2015 June 2016 change June 2015 June 2016 change
---------------------------- ---------- -------- ---------- ---------- -------
Lowest 20th $24,455 $24,020 -1.8 $10,666 $11,056 3.7
percent
Second 20th 34,645 35,240 1.7 27,711 28,660 3.4
percent
Third 20th 45,546 46,864 2.9 48,661 50,105 3.0
percent
Fourth 20th 62,912 63,424 0.8 79,773 82,561 3.5
percent
Highest 20th 107,424 111,526 3.8 176,583 192,051 8.8
percent
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Other available data
Standard CE midyear tables can be found at www.bls.gov/cex/midyear.htm.
Data tables with the most detailed subcategories of expenditures can be
obtained by sending a request to cexinfo@bls.gov.
The 1996 through 2015 CE public-use microdata, including Interview Survey
data, Diary Survey data, and paradata (information about the data
collection process), are available on the CE website for free electronic
download at www.bls.gov/cex/pumd_data.htm. The Interview Survey files
contain expenditure data in two different formats: MTBI files that present
monthly values in an item-coding framework based on the Consumer Price
Index (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 MTBI files. For releases prior
to 1996, users can continue to purchase USB flash drives using the
public-use microdata order form at www.bls.gov/cex/pumd_doc.htm.
The 2015 Annual Report, “Consumer Expenditures in 2015,” includes a brief
discussion of expenditure changes in 2015 and tables with data classified
by the standard characteristics that are included on the website. Recent
CE-specific articles in the BLS Beyond the Numbers web report series
provide analyses of topical economic issues and long term spending trends,
as well as comparisons of CE data to other data series at
www.bls.gov/cex/csxwebarticles.htm and www.bls.gov/cex/cecomparison.htm.
Additional methodological and analytical articles using CE data will be
published in 2017. All data published in the Annual Report and posted to
the website are integrated from the two CE components—the quarterly
Interview Survey and weekly Diary Survey.
The 2016 annual news release, data tables, and public-use microdata are
planned for release at the end of August 2017. Public-use microdata are
released on an annual basis.
Also available are the Diary Survey questionnaire and a modified version
of the computer assisted personal interview (CAPI) instrument used to
collect the Interview Survey data at www.bls.gov/cex/csxsurveyforms.htm.
Information on the methodology used to calculate and collect CE data is
available at www.bls.gov/cex/ce_methodology.htm. General articles and
research papers using CE data are in the CE research library at
www.bls.gov/cex/research_papers/research-paper-catalog.htm.
The annual CE Microdata Users' Workshop and Survey Methods Symposium
will be held July 18-21, 2017, at the BLS national office. Registration
is free. More information and the registration form are available at
www.bls.gov/cex/csxannualworkshop.htm.
For further information, contact the Division of Consumer Expenditure
Surveys, Office of Prices and Living Conditions at (202) 691-6900 or by
email at cexinfo@bls.gov. Information in this release will be made
available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone:
(202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1 (800) 877-8339.
1 Consumer units include families, single persons living alone or sharing a
household with others but who are financially independent, or two or more
persons living together who share expenses.
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Last Modified Date: April 19, 2017
United States Department of Labor
