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Wednesday, December 17, 2003 Survey of Household Spending2002New technology and shifting priorities are changing the way Canadian households spend their money, according to estimates from the 2002 Survey of Household Spending. The proportion of the average household budget allocated to food and shelter remained largely unchanged from 2001. However, spending on transportation and communications increased, while the portion claimed by personal taxes fell for the second consecutive year. Personal taxes accounted for an estimated 20% of the average household budget, down from 21% in 2001. Transportation claimed 14%, up slightly from 13%, while food represented 11% and shelter 19%, about the same as in 2001. On average, households spent $60,090 in 2002, a 2.2% increase from 2001 after adjusting for inflation. This included an estimated $6,680 on food, $11,200 on shelter, $8,430 on transportation and $12,030 on personal taxes. Two provinces reported average levels of household spending above the national average of $60,090 in 2002: Alberta at $67,730 and Ontario at $67,540. Newfoundland and Labrador continued to have the lowest provincial average ($47,970). Transportation spending driven by vehicle purchasesHousehold spending on transportation in 2002 rose to an estimated average of $8,430, up 11% from 2001. This was due largely to a 14% increase in spending on the purchase of cars and trucks, which includes vans and SUVs. Statistics Canada's Retail Commodity Survey noted that motor vehicle sales reached record levels in 2002, and that incentive programs and low interest rate financing played a role in this increase.
Average spending on gasoline, parts and other operating expenses rose 11% to $3,950. Respondents reported that spending on their private and public automotive insurance premiums went up 16% to an average of $1,070. Eight out of 10 households reported owning or leasing at least one car or truck. Average spending on public transportation, which includes airline fares as well as city and interurban transit, increased 7% to $690. Spending on high-tech: Majority of households had cell phonesFor the first time, more than half of all Canadian households (52%) reported having a cell phone. The average household reported spending $260 on cellular services in 2002, up 25% from 2001. Just over one-half (54%) of households reported using the Internet from home, up from 50% in 2001 and 42% in 2000. Over half of the households with Internet access reported using a high-speed connection (cable or high-speed telephone) in 2002, up from 41% in 2001. There was a significant urban-rural difference in Internet access. More than one-third of urban households reported using a high-speed Internet connection, while only 5% of rural households had high-speed. Average spending on Internet services rose to $160 in 2002, up 25% from 2001. DVD players and CD writers continued to soar in popularity. About 36% of households reported having a DVD player and 28%, a CD writer, compared with about 20% each in 2001. Satellite television receivers were reported by 21% of households, up from 18% the previous year. Cable television use held steady at 67% of households. Satellite TV was more widespread in rural areas. It was reported by over half of rural households, compared with only 16% of urban households. Average spending for satellite service rental jumped 31% to about $100 in 2002, while average cablevision service rental remained steady at $330. In 2002, over 64% of all households reported owning a computer, continuing the upward trend from 60% in 2001 and 55% in 2000. The number of households reporting spending on new computer hardware has risen from 12% in 1997 to 18% in both 2001 and 2002. However, spending on new computer hardware was down 10% in 2002 to an average of $230, which was 17% below the peak of $280 reached in 2000. This decline was mainly due to a steady decrease in price. According to the Consumer Price Index, computer prices in 2002 were down 18% from 2001. Households spending more on health care and pensionsHouseholds reported spending an average of $1,590 on health care, up 12%. This was due to an 11% increase in spending on prescription drugs, and a 13% increase in public and private health insurance premiums. Households in Alberta reported the highest average spending on health care, at $1,990, followed by British Columbia at $1,850. Households in Newfoundland and Labrador reported the lowest average spending ($1,300), while Ontario was second lowest at $1,400. Household spending on personal insurance and pension contributions, excluding registered retirement savings plans, grew 9% to $3,420, mostly due to increases in contributions to Canada and Quebec pension plans. Average RRSP contributions decreased 4% to $1,620 in 2002. Jump in spending on tobacco products, games of chanceSpending on tobacco products rose 19% to an average of $730 in 2002. However, this largely reflects a 32% rise in the price of tobacco products, as measured by the Consumer Price Index. In the last 10 years, the percentage of households reporting spending on tobacco has decreased from 47% in 1992 to 37% in 2002. Net spending on games of chance increased nearly 18% since 2001 to an average of $310 per household. Food, shelter, clothing account for over half of spending by lowest income householdsFor the purposes of this analysis, households were divided into five groups according to their income, with each group representing 20%, or one-fifth, of all households. The one-fifth of Canadian households with the lowest incomes spent over 51% of their budget on food, shelter and clothing in 2002. Personal income taxes claimed 4% of their budget. In contrast, the group of households with the highest incomes allocated about 28% of their budgets to food, shelter and clothing, while 28% went to personal income taxes. The proportions for both groups were similar in 2001. The one-fifth of households with the lowest incomes reported average annual spending of $20,220 last year, compared with $120,230 for the group with the highest incomes. Households in the lowest quintile have fewer members on average than households in the highest quintile. Nearly half of households heat with natural gasData for 2002 showed that about 49% of Canadian households used natural gas as their primary heating fuel, 32% used electricity, and 13% depended on oil heating. This varied from province to province, depending on availability. However, the survey showed that the primary heating fuel also varied with household tenure. Households that rent their dwelling were twice as likely to have electricity as a primary heating fuel as households that own their dwelling. Of the estimated 4.1 million households that rent, over 46% use electricity for heating, compared with only 24% of owners. More than 54% of the 7.6 million households that owned their dwelling reported natural gas as their primary heating fuel. Available on CANSIM: tables 203-0001 to 203-0018. Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 3508. Two tables offering summary-level spending data are available free online in the Canadian statistics module. One presents data for Canada and the provinces and the other one for selected metropolitan areas. A third table, presenting data on dwelling characteristics and household equipment, is also available free. A user guide (62F0026MIE2003002, free) presenting information about survey methodology, concepts, and data quality is available online. From the Our products and services page, under Browse our Internet publications, choose Free, then Personal finance and household finance. Ten detailed tables are available at $134 per table. Of these 10 tables, five present detailed household spending data: Canada, provinces and selected metropolitan areas (62F0031XDB); Household income quintile, Canada and provinces (62F0032XDB); Housing tenure, Canada (62F0033XDB); Household type, Canada (62F0034XDB); and Size of area of residence, Canada (62F0035XDB). The remaining five tables present data on dwelling characteristics and household equipment: Canada, provinces and selected metropolitan areas (62F0041XDB); Income quintile, Canada (62F0042XDB); Housing tenure, Canada (62F0043XDB); Household type, Canada (62F0044XDB ); and Size of area of residence, Canada (62F0045XDB). Custom tabulations are also available. For more information about the Survey of Household Spending, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Client Services, Income Statistics Division (1-888-297-7355; 613-951-7355; income@statcan.gc.ca).
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