Consumer Expenditure Survey

The Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE or CEX) is a Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) survey that collects information on the buying habits of U.S. consumers. The program consists of two components — the Interview Survey and the Diary Survey — each with its own sample. The surveys collect data on expenditures, income, and consumer unit characteristics.

For the Interview Survey, each consumer unit is interviewed once per quarter, for four consecutive quarters. This survey is designed to capture large purchases, such as spending on rent property and vehicles and those that occur on a regular basis such as rent or utilities. Since April 2003, data have been collected using a Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI). Prior to that, interviews were administered using paper and pencil. An example of the most recent CAPI instrument is available on the Consumer Expenditure Survey website.

The Diary Survey is self-administered, and each consumer unit keeps a diary for two one-week periods. This survey is meant to capture small, frequently purchased items and allows respondents to record all purchases such as spending for food and beverages, tobacco, personal care products, and nonprescription drugs and supplies. The most recent Diary Survey form is available on the Consumer Expenditure Survey website.

A consumer unit consists of any of the following: (1) All members of a particular household who are related by blood, marriage, adoption, or other legal arrangements; (2) a person living alone or sharing a household with others or living as a roomer in a private home or lodging house or in permanent living quarters in a hotel or motel, but who is financially independent; or (3) two or more persons living together who use their incomes to make joint expenditure decisions. Financial independence is determined by spending behavior with regard to the three major expense categories: Housing, food, and other living expenses. To be considered financially independent, the respondent must provide at least two of the three major expenditure categories, either entirely or in part.

The terms consumer unit, family, and household are often used interchangeably for convenience. However, the proper technical term for purposes of the Consumer Expenditure Survey is consumer unit.

Data from the Interview Survey and the Diary Survey are combined to provide a complete account of expenditures and income. In some cases data are unique to a particular survey. For example, the Diary Survey provides greater detail of food expenditures than the Interview Survey, and the Interview Survey collects data on automobile repairs which are not found in the Diary Survey. For items collected in both surveys the BLS selects which data to use by statistical methods.

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