HOUSEHOLD SECTOR CONSUMPTION

Income and wealth are both used to fund the consumption of household goods and services. Household consumption relates to household economic wellbeing in that it measures the acquisition of goods and services used for the direct satisfaction of individual or collective wants and needs. Household sector consumption is measured by real household sector final consumption expenditure (FCE) per capita.

Over the decade 1999-2009, real household sector FCE per capita grew by an average of 1.9% per year.

Expenditure (as measured by real household FCE) on communication showed particularly strong growth, with an average of 4.3% per year. This partly reflects the increasing availability and use of both mobile phones and the Internet. Expenditure on furnishing and household equipment, and health, also grew strongly with average annual growth of 4.0% and 3.1% respectively. Recreation and culture was another area which saw strong growth, with an average annual growth rate of 3.1% over the period. However, this category includes significant expenditures by non-profit institutions such as churches and social and sporting clubs.

The share of real household sector FCE on items that could be considered essentials for daily life (food, clothing, housing and utilities) fell over the same decade, from 36% to 34%. The only decrease in average expenditure per capita was on alcoholic beverages and tobacco, falling at an average rate of 0.3% per year.

Household sector real final consumption expenditure(a) per capita

	1999	2009	Annual average growth rate
	$	$	%
Food	2 914	3 223	0.9
Alcoholic beverages and tobacco	1 101	1 066	-0.3
Clothing and footwear	836	1 038	2.0
Rent and other dwelling services	4 443	5 263	1.6
Electricity, gas and other fuel	523	610	1.4
Furnishings and household equipment	1 013	1 557	4.0
Health	1 149	1 611	3.1
Transport	3 129	3 381	0.7
Communication	533	849	4.3
Recreation and culture	2 430	3 398	3.1
Education services	811	1 004	2.0
Hotels, cafes and restaurants	1 808	2 038	1.1
Miscellaneous goods and services	3 871	4 973	2.3
Total	24 451	30 011	1.9