Consumer Spending Rebounds In 2014 As Healthcare Expenditures Lead, Labor Department Says

Average expenditures per consumer unit in 2014 were $53,495, a 4.7% jump from 2013 levels, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported this week. During the same period, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.6% as all major components of household spending increased during the year.

The BLS defines consumer units to include families, single persons living alone or sharing a household with others but who are financially independent, or two or more persons living together who share expenses.

Nationally, many of the categories with large percentage increases in expenditures rebounded from declines in spending in 2013. The rise in healthcare expenditures was one of the largest increases among the major components.

However, the Labor Department said that more consumer units reported expenditures for health insurance than in 2013, mainly because of an improvement in BLS interview collection methods. Altogether, the percent of households reporting quarterly expenditures on health insurance increased from 65.5% in 2013 to 68% in 2014.

BLS said the insurance questions were revised from 3-month recall questions to questions about the amount of the last payment and the payment period. The new estimates are more accurate because the respondent does not have to calculate a quarterly estimate, which is now instead calculated by BLS using the amount of the last payment which respondents are more likely to know.

Overall, one of the largest increases was in the apparel and services category, up 11.3%, rebounding from a decline in 2013. Food expenditures rose 2.4% in 2014, propelled by a 6.2% spike in spending on food away from home. Food at home expenditures were virtually unchanged in 2014.

Transportation expenditures rose a modest 0.8%. Gasoline and motor oil spending continued to decline, decreasing by 5.5% to $2,468, mirroring a drop in gasoline prices, which fell 3.9% according to the Consumer Price Index. Vehicle insurance expenditures, however, rose 9.8%.

Cash contributions dropped for the second straight year in 2014, falling by 2.4%.