2004 Consumer Expenditures Surveys — 2005-11-29

Average annual expenditures per consumer unit rose 6.3 percent in 2004, following increases of 0.3 percent in 2003 and 2.9 percent in 2002, 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 2003 to 2004 was more than the 2.7 percent rise in the annual average Consumer Price Index (CPI) over this period. Changes in expenditures from 2003 to 2004 for the major components of spending were generally larger than a year earlier. Among the components, the 2004 increases for food (8.3 percent), housing (3.6 percent), apparel (10.7 percent), and healthcare (6.5 percent) were statistically significant. (Average annual expenditures and expenditures for personal insurance and pensions are not strictly comparable to previous data.