April 20, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)
Entertainment spending declines in
1997
Consumer expenditures on entertainment fell
1.1 percent in 1997, following an increase of 13.8 percent in 1996. Average annual
expenditures on entertainment were $1,813 per consumer unit; that figure was less than for
basic necessities such as housing, transportation, and food, and about the same as the
average for health care.
[Chart data—TXT]
An 8.4-percent decrease in spending on other entertainment supplies, equipment, and
services contributed to the overall decrease in entertainment spending in 1997. The
subcomponent includes items such as unmotored and motorized recreational vehicles, where
relatively small changes in the number of consumers buying such expensive, infrequently
purchased items have a large effect on the overall expenditure average.
During 1997, expenditures rose by 2.9 percent for television, radios, and sound
equipment and by 2.6 percent for entertainment fees and admissions. However, both of
those increases were smaller than the expenditure gains reported in 1996. Spending on
pets, toys, and playground equipment decreased 2.4 percent in 1997, after increasing by
4.0 percent the year before.
These data are a product of the BLS Consumer
Expenditure Survey. Additional information is available from "Consumer
Expenditures in 1997", Report 927.
Of interest
Spotlight on Statistics: National Hispanic Heritage Month
In this Spotlight, we take a look at the Hispanic labor force—including labor force participation, employment and unemployment, educational attainment, geographic location, country of birth, earnings, consumer expenditures, time use, workplace injuries, and employment projections.
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