October 28, 2003 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Changes in spending patterns among Hispanics

The share of total expenditures allocated by Hispanic consumers to food at home declined from 15 percent to 13 percent between 1994-95 and 2000-01. The largest change was among Puerto Rican consumers, whose share decreased from 17.5 percent to 14.2 percent.

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The shares allocated to apparel and services and to housing were generally stable for all Hispanic groups with the exception of spending by Cuban consumers on housing. Among Cubans, the share of expenditures allocated to housing rose from 32 to 38 percent.

The share of spending accounted for by transportation for Hispanics in general rose from 19 to 22 percent of total expenditures. The smallest increase—from 16.1 to 18.7 percent —was for Central or South American families.

These data are from the Consumer Expenditure Survey. For an update on spending patterns among Hispanic consumer units, see "A changing market: expenditures by Hispanic consumers, revisited," by Geoffrey D. Paulin, Monthly Labor Review, August 2003.