Consumer Expenditures Down in 2010 Sep 30, 2011

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Average annual expenditures by consumers fell 2.0% in 2010, on top of a
2.8% decrease in 2009, according to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report this week.

Although spending fell in 2010, prices for goods and services increased 1.6% from 2009 to 2010, as measured by the average annual change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U). This was the second consecutive year that there has been a drop in spending. The 2010 level of average annual expenditures, $48,109, was lower than the 2006 amount of $48,398.

Spending on food and housing fell 3.8% and 2.0%, respectively, contributing to the overall drop in spending in 2010. Healthcare was up 1.0% and transportation was up 0.2%, making those components the only major components of spending to increase.

Percentage changes from 2009 to 2010 in the categories tracked are:
• food overall: -2.0%
• food at home: -3.8%
• food away from home: -3.4%
• housing: -2.0%
• apparel and services: -1.4%
• transportation: 0.2%
• healthcare: 1.0%
• entertainment: -7.0%
• cash contributions: -5.2%
• personal insurance and pensions: -1.8%
• all other expenditures: -0.7

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