Consumer Expenditures in 2006
Internet address: http://www.bls.gov/cex USDL-07-1644
Technical information: 202-691-6900 FOR RELEASE: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media information: 202-691-5902 Friday, October 26, 2007
CONSUMER EXPENDITURES IN 2006
Average annual expenditures per consumer unit, which is similar to a household,
rose 4.3 percent in 2006, following an increase of 6.9 percent in 2005, according to
results from the Consumer Expenditure Survey released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics
of the U.S. Department of Labor. The increase in expenditures from 2005 to 2006 was
larger than the 3.2 percent rise in the annual average Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) over
this period.
Increases in spending on housing (7.9 percent), the largest component of spending,
and on food (3.0 percent), contributed to the overall increase in 2006. Among the other
major components, spending increased for healthcare (3.8 percent), transportation
(2.0 percent), and personal insurance and pensions (1.3 percent), while spending
decreased for apparel and services (-0.6 percent) and entertainment (-0.5 percent).
Average annual expenditures and characteristics of all consumer units and
percent changes, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2004-2006
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Percent change
Item 2004 2005 2006 2004-2005 2005-2006
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Number of consumer
units (000’s) 116,282 117,356 118,843
Income before taxes $54,453 $58,712 $60,533
Average age of
reference person 48.5 48.6 48.7
Average number in
consumer unit:
Persons 2.5 2.5 2.5
Earners 1.3 1.3 1.3
Vehicles 1.9 2.0 1.9
Percent homeowner 68 67 67
Average annual
expenditures $43,395 $46,409 $48,398 6.9 4.3
Food 5,781 5,931 6,111 2.6 3.0
At home 3,347 3,297 3,417 -1.5 3.6
Away from home 2,434 2,634 2,694 8.2 2.3
Housing 13,918 15,167 16,366 9.0 7.9
Apparel and services 1,816 1,886 1,874 3.9 -0.6
Transportation 7,801 8,344 8,508 7.0 2.0
Healthcare 2,574 2,664 2,766 3.5 3.8
Entertainment 2,218 2,388 2,376 7.7 -0.5
Personal insurance
and pensions 4,823 5,204 5,270 7.9 1.3
Other expenditures 4,461 4,823 5,129 8.1 6.3
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NOTE: A consumer unit is defined as members of a household related by blood,
marriage, adoption, or some other legal arrangement; a single person living
alone or sharing a household with others, but who is financially independent;
or two or more persons living together who share responsibility for at least
two out of the three major types of expenses: food, housing, and other expenses.
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 October 26,
2007 by accessing the BLS website (http://www.bls.gov/cex). Tables show 2006 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.
Other available data
A forthcoming annual report will include a brief discussion of expenditure
changes in 2006 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.
The 2006 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. Beginning with the 1996 microdata on CD-ROM, files are
available in either ASCII format or PC-SAS format. Beginning with the release of the 2005
microdata, both formats are available on one CD-ROM.
(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.
Last Modified Date: October 26, 2007
Bureau of Labor Statistics
