January 02, 2001 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Consumers spend more in all categories in 1999

Consumer spending rose in all major categories in 1999. In comparison, spending had dropped in three categories the previous year.

[Chart data—TXT]

Increases in 1999 in average expenditures per consumer unit ranged from a 1.6-percent increase in spending on personal insurance and pensions to an 8.3-percent increase in entertainment spending.

In 1998, there had been decreases in spending in three of the nine major expenditure categories: food at home, apparel and services, and entertainment. The largest rise in spending in 1998 was 5.7 percent on food away from home.

These data come from the Consumer Expenditure Survey. Find out more in "Consumer Expenditures in 1999," news release USDL-00-369.