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CONSUMER EXPENDITURES MIDYEAR UPDATE--JULY 2016 THROUGH JUNE 2017 AVERAGE For release: 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Thursday, April 26, 2018 USDL-18-0636 Technical Information: (202) 691-6900 CEXInfo@bls.gov www.bls.gov/cex Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 PressOffice@bls.gov CONSUMER EXPENDITURES MIDYEAR UPDATE -- JULY 2016 THROUGH JUNE 2017 AVERAGE Average expenditures per consumer unit1 for July 2016 through June 2017 were up 3.9 percent compared with the July 2015 through June 2016 midyear average, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. During the same period, the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) rose 1.9 percent and average pretax incomes increased 0.3 percent. Table A. Average expenditures and income of all consumer units _____________________________________________________________________________ Percent change July 2015- July 2016- July 2015 - June 2016 Item June 2016 June 2017 to Average Average July 2016 - June 2017 --------------------------------------- ---------- --------------------- Income before taxes $72,990 $73,207 0.3 Average annual expenditures 56,258 58,460 3.9 Food 7,196 7,407 2.9 Food at home 4,101 4,121 0.5 Food away from home 3,095 3,286 6.2 Housing 18,495 19,325 4.5 Apparel and services 1,794 1,771 -1.3 Transportation 9,225 9,252 0.3 Healthcare 4,470 4,710 5.4 Entertainment 2,908 2,941 1.1 Education 1,241 1,372 10.6 Cash contributions 1,813 2,088 15.2 Personal insurance and 6,553 6,938 5.9 pensions Pensions and Social 6,221 6,554 5.4 Security All other expenditures 2,563 2,655 3.6 ____________________________________________________________________________ Note: Subcategories may not sum to their respective major item category. 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 major expenses/ who make joint expenditure decisions. Most major components of household spending increased over the 12 months ending June 2017. (See table A.) The 15.2-percent rise in cash contributions spending was the largest percentage increase among all major components, followed by a 10.6-percent rise in education expenditures. Spending patterns, July 2016 June 2017 compared with July 2015 June 2016 Cash contributions increased 15.2 percent. The category incorporates a wide array of giving and financial obligations including charitable contributions, support for college students, child support, alimony, and other gifts of cash and financial instruments to individuals and organizations not part of the household. Contributions to charities and other nonprofit organizations, excluding religious and educational, accounted for much of this increase, rising significantly over this period. Education spending increased 10.6 percent. College tuition outlays increased 15.8 percent, while expenditures for finance, late, and interest charges on student loans decreased 8.0 percent. Spending on food increased 2.9 percent. The increase was driven by food away from home which increased 6.2 percent, while food at home rose 0.5 percent. Healthcare spending rose 5.4 percent to $4,710 for July 2016 through June 2017. Annual (calendar year) spending for healthcare has increased every year from 1996 through 2016. The most recent midyear increase was driven by an 11.7-percent increase in average drug expenditures, a 10.8-percent increase in average medical services expenditures, and a 3.5-percent increase in average health insurance expenditures. Apparel and services spending decreased 1.3 percent to $1,771, after decreasing 4.6 percent during the previous midyear period. A decline in expenditures for watches and jewelry spurred the drop in apparel spending. Transportation expenditures edged up 0.3 percent to $9,252. Within transportation, the average expenditures for vehicle repairs and maintenance was up 11.5 percent, an increase largely offset by a decline in spending for new cars and trucks. Average household expenditures for gasoline and motor oil were essentially unchanged over the period. Personal insurance and pensions expenditures increased 5.9 percent, following an 8.3-percent increase during the previous midyear period. The 5.4-percent increase in pensions and Social Security and the 15.7-percent increase in life and other personal insurance accounted for the growth in the category. Spending by selected demographics Data from the Consumer Expenditure Surveys (CE) measure how consumers allocate their spending among the various components of total expenditures. Table B compares the shares 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 2016 through June 2017 __________________________________________________________________________ Income quintiles Lowest Second Third Fourth Highest Item 20th 20th 20th 20th 20th percent percent percent percent percent -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Food 15.7 13.5 13.6 12.7 11.3 Housing 40.6 36.3 34.2 32.1 30.3 Transportation 14.7 17.1 16.8 17.1 14.5 Healthcare 8.9 9.3 9.3 8.3 6.8 Personal insurance 2.7 5.8 9.0 12.9 16.7 & pensions __________________________________________________________________________ Table C shows average expenditures and income before taxes by quintile from July 2016 through June 2017. Only the highest 20 percent showed a decrease in average household income before taxes across the 12 months ending June 2017. All the quintiles showed an increase in total average household expenditures. Table C. Average annual expenditures and income before taxes by income quintile, July 2016 June 2017 compared with July 2015 June 2016 __________________________________________________________________________________________ Average annual expenditures Income before taxes July 2015- July 2016- Percent July 2015- July 2016- Percent Income quintile June 2016 June 2017 change June 2016 June 2017 change ---------------------------- ---------- -------- ---------- ---------- ------- Lowest 20th $24,020 $26,144 8.8 $11,056 $11,587 4.8 percent Second 20th 35,240 38,187 8.4 28,660 29,414 2.6 percent Third 20th 46,864 48,543 3.6 50,105 51,379 2.5 percent Fourth 20th 63,424 66,532 4.9 82,561 84,924 2.9 percent Highest 20th 111,526 112,845 1.2 192,051 188,676 -1.8 percent _________________________________________________________________________________________ Additional information 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 2016 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 change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) cited in the text was calculated as the percentage change between the 12-month average CPI-U for all items from July 2015-June 2016 (238.251) and the 12-month average CPI-U for all items from July 2016-June 2017 (242.671). The 2016 Annual Report, Consumer Expenditures in 2016, includes a brief discussion of expenditure changes in 2016 and tables with data classified by the standard characteristics that are included on the website, www.bls.gov/opub/reports/consumer-expenditures/2016/home.htm. 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 2018. All data published in the Annual Report and posted to the website are integrated from the two CE componentsthe quarterly Interview Survey and weekly Diary Survey. The 2017 annual news release, data tables, and public-use microdata are planned for release in September 2018. 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 17-20, 2018, 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.