TEXT Technical information:(202) 606-6900 USDL 93-479 Media contact: 606-5902 FOR RELEASE: 10:00 A.M. EST Monday, Nov. 8, 1993 CONSUMER EXPENDITURES IN 1992 Average annual expenditures per consumer unit edged upward in 1992, increasing less than 1 percent from 1991, according to results from the Consumer Expenditure Survey released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. Expenditures rose 4 percent in 1991 and 2 percent in 1990. General price levels, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose 3 percent from 1991 to 1992. The percent changes in expenditures from 1991 to 1992 varied among the major components of spending. Food expenditures showed no change; housing, transportation, and entertainment rose about 2 percent; health care rose 5 percent; and apparel and services and personal insurance and pensions each fell by 1 percent. Consumer Expenditure Survey data for 1990, 1991, and 1992 are shown in table 1. Table 1. Annual expenditures of all consumer units and percent changes, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 1990-92 Percent change Item 1990 1991 1992 1990-91 1991-92 Number of consumer units 96,968 97,918 100,019 Income before taxes 1/ $31,889 $33,901 $33,854 Average age of reference person 47.2 47.5 47.6 Average number in consumer unit: Persons 2.6 2.6 2.5 Earners 1.4 1.4 1.3 Vehicles 2.0 2.0 1.9 Percent homeowner 62 63 61 Average annual expenditures $28,369 $29,614 $29,846 4.4 0.8 Food 4,296 4,271 4,273 -0.6 0 Food at home 2,485 2,651 2,643 6.7 -.3 Food away from home 1,811 1,620 1,631 -10.5 .7 Housing 8,690 9,252 9,477 6.5 2.4 Apparel and services 1,617 1,735 1,710 7.3 -1.4 Transportation 5,122 5,151 5,228 0.6 1.5 Health care 1,480 1,554 1,634 5.0 5.1 Entertainment 1,422 1,472 1,500 3.5 1.9 Personal insurance and pensions 2,592 2,787 2,750 7.5 -1.3 Other expenditures 3,149 3,392 3,274 7.7 -3.5 1/ Income values are derived from "complete income reporters" only. The strength of the Consumer Expenditure Survey data is in the ability to associate expenditures by consumers with the demographic characteristics of those consumers. A soon-to-be-published report will include tables showing the data classified by income quintile, income class, size of consumer unit, number of earners, type of consumer unit, age of the reference person, region of residence, housing tenure, race, type of area (urban-rural), and occupation. These are standard classifications that have been published in prior reports and bulletins. The report will be sent to all persons on the Consumer Expenditure Survey mailing list. There is an ongoing effort by BLS to provide as much reliable data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey as is possible. An example of this effort can be seen in the expanded income class table in the upcoming annual report. Until now, the highest income class shown in published tables was $50,000 and over. As consumer unit incomes have increased over time, the number of consumers in the highest income class has reached the point where it is sufficiently large to be divided into two new classes. Starting with the upcoming report, the income class table will show upper classes of $50,000 to $69,999 and $70,000 and over. Tables with an upper class of $50,000 and over will be made available to users who wish to make comparisons with earlier years. The 1992 Diary and Interview microdata are now available on public use tapes. These tapes are available for annual data back to 1980. The 1992 EXPN public use tapes which include non-expenditure information and more detailed expenditure records than are found on the Interview survey tapes will be available in the near future. Tabulations of integrated data for 1992 with more detail than is shown in this news release or in the annual report are available. For further information, contact the Division of Consumer Expenditure Surveys, Office of Prices and Living Conditions, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2 Massachusetts Ave., NE., Washington, DC 20212-0001 or call 202-606-6900.