Is consumer spending growing faster in North Dakota or North Carolina? How do consumers in different regions respond to economic downturns? Which state has the fastest growing consumer market for motor vehicles?
On August 7, new BEA data on consumer spending broken out by state will help businesses, consumers, and policymakers answer those questions. The statistics will cover the years from 1997 to 2012.
These prototype Personal Consumption Expenditure by state statistics are designed to be used in conjunction with other macroeconomic and regional data we produce, like statistics on State Personal Income to better understand state economies. We are releasing these statistics for review and comment by data users.
Last year, we released a first look at experimental statistics on consumer spending by state.
The state data on consumer spending will use the product definitions used in our national statistics on consumer spending, making them consistent. Given the limited availability of source data at the regional level, the new PCE-by-state statistics will not provide the same level of category detail that BEA currently makes available at the national level.
The new statistics will also use the same residency concepts that we use in our state income data, allowing users to compare people’s income and consumption in each state.
These new estimates are just one way that BEA is innovating to better measure the 21st Century economy. On August 20, we will release prototype estimates of quarterly GDP by state. Earlier this year, we introduced real (inflation-adjusted) estimates of personal income for states and metropolitan areas and new quarterly statistics on GDP broken out by industry. Providing businesses and individuals with new data tools like these is a priority of the Commerce Department’s “Open for Business Agenda.”