December 01, 2004 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Consumer expenditures in 2003

At $40,817, average annual expenditures per consumer unit were essentially unchanged in 2003, up 0.3 percent. This followed increases of 2.9 percent in 2002 and 3.9 percent in 2001.

[Chart data—TXT]

Among the major components of spending, the only statistically significant change from 2002 to 2003 was a 6.2-percent decrease in spending on apparel and services. Average expenditures on food and entertainment decreased over the period, 0.7 and 0.9 percent respectively, whereas housing rose 1.1 percent, transportation rose 0.3 percent, and health care rose 2.8 percent.

Whereas expenditures showed little change from 2002 to 2003, there was a 2.3 percent annual average rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) over this period.

These data come from the Consumer Expenditure Survey. Find out more in "Consumer Expenditures in 2003" (PDF) (TXT), USDL release 04-2399, and in http://www.bls.gov/cex/csxnote205.htm.