Consumer Spending Survey Updated: Housing Costs More, Food Less

Food is a bigger bargain than ever before, but housing has become a much heavier burden on Americans’ budgets, the government said Friday in a massive new survey of consumer spending habits.

Consumers spend less of their incomes for roasts and steaks, beer and hard liquor, but more for chicken, cheese and wine than they did in 1972. Suits and dresses consume less of the family income; sportswear takes more.

These findings come from the Labor Department’s newly revised consumer price index, which measures changes in the cost of a so-called market basket of goods and services bought by urban residents. The government periodically revises the index to reflect changes in consumer buying habits.

“Buying patterns can change over time as a result of changes in prices, demographic characteristics of the population, income or tastes and habits,” said a report by the Charles Mason and Clifford Butler of the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Friday’s consumer price index report is based on a new market basket reflecting the way consumers spent their money between 1982 and 1984. It was the first revision since 1972-73--before the energy crisis sent gasoline prices soaring and long before the boom in such electronic products as home computers and video recorders.

As the most popular measure of inflation, the CPI touches the lives of an estimated 60 million Americans. The pay scales of Social Security beneficiaries, retirees from the government and the military and many union members are directly linked to it.

In addition, the value of food stamps is pegged to the index. Some rental agreements and alimony and child support payments also change with the official government figure.

The federal government spent $45 million to develop the new market basket, surveying 60,000 households carefully selected to reflect the overall population.

What resulted were some key changes in the index. Food, for example, consumed 19.9% of the budget in 1972. Although people are eating more meals in restaurants and buying more frozen foods, the share of spending devoted to meals drops to 17.8% in the new survey.

Americans are eating less beef and more chicken now, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report, but “beef has remained the meat of choice.” For those who eat meat regularly, cheaper ground beef has replaced roasts.

Consumers shifted from whole milk to low-fat forms of milk, and bananas replaced more costly oranges in many homes.

The largest increase in the new index will be in housing, which rose from 37.7% to 42.6 % of the budget. Both renters and homeowners now pay more for their living quarters. Gas, electricity and telephone service have become bigger items in the household budget, as rugs and furniture have declined in importance.

Individuals and families spend less to dress themselves and, when they do buy clothing, the emphasis is on the casual.