Hi Everyone - I know that some of you are interested in the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CEX), especially as it includes information on vehicle ownership, maintenance costs. The geographic level is large, as the sample is small. In the CEX microdata, the (residence) geography includes: region, state, CMSA, urban/rural status, and population size of the area. Vehicle data include: make, model year, purchase date and price Costs includes: fuel, purchase costs, lease costs, auto rentals, insurance, state registrations, prop taxes on vehicles, and other costs (e.g cost of repairs, tolls, veh inspection cots). The unit of measurement in the CEX is a "consumer unit" which is interchangeably called a "household." It is an individual or group of individuals who live together and make joint expenditure decisions. Elaine Murakami FHWA Office of Planning 206-220-4460 (in Seattle) From: Ryan, Jay - BLS [mailto:Ryan.Jay@bls.gov] Sent: Tuesday, September 10, 2013 7:05 AM Subject: 2012 Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) data tables and microdata release I am pleased to announce that the 2012 Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) data tables and microdata will be released today-our earliest release date ever. The news release is posted here<http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cesan.nr0.htm>tm>. The tables and public-use microdata will be posted later today. The 2012 CE public-use microdata are available on the web at no charge. The 2007 - 2011 public-use microdata files are also on the web and we plan to post earlier years back to 1996 (all the years available as SAS datasets) over the coming year as program resources are available. Earlier years can still be purchased on CD. We have discontinued the public-use microdata e-mail distribution list. In order to continue to receive updates on data releases, errata (affecting past and future data), and special announcements, you need to sign up for the new email notification here<https://subscriptions.bls.gov/accounts/USDOLBLS/subscriber/new>ew>. Spending in 2012 was up 3.5%, which is more than twice as much as the 1.7-percent increase in prices for goods and services during the same period as measured by the CPI-U. Item 2010 2011 2012 Percent Change 2010-2011 Percent Change 2011-2012 Average annual expenditures $48,109 $49,705 $51,442 3.3 3.5 Income before taxes $62,481 $63,685 $65,596 1.9 3.0 As always, we look forward to hearing your thoughts on the CE or the Gemini survey redesign. If you would like to be dropped from this biannual email let me know. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns: Phone - (202) 691- 6900 Email - cexinfo@bls.gov<mailto:cexinfo@bls.gov> ___________________________ Jay Ryan, Chief Division of Consumer Expenditure Survey Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, DC 20212 http://www.bls.gov/cex ___________________________