1998 Consumer Expenditures Surveys — 1999-11-16

Average annual expenditures per consumer unit rose 2.1 percent in 1998, following increases of 3.0 percent in 1997 and 4.8 percent in 1996, 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 1997 to 1998 was slightly larger than the 1.6 percent annual average rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) over this period. The percent changes in expenditures from 1997 to 1998 varied among the major components of spending. Expenditures on food showed little change in 1998, rising just 0.2 percent as a 3.5 percent decrease in spending on food at home largely offset the 5.7 percent increase in food away from home. Spending on personal insurance and pensions rose about 5 percent, on housing, about 4 percent, and on health care, 3.4 percent.