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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
United States Department of Labor
