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January 27, 2017SURVEY OF HOUSEHOLD SPENDING, 2015 Statistics Canada released the 2015 results of the Survey of Household Spending today. This survey tracks average household spending by a number of categories of current consumption and other expenditures. It provides a snapshot to compare how much Canadian households spend on a wide range of goods and services.
The average Nova Scotia household spent an average of $52,546 on goods and services in 2015, 0.8 percent higher than in 2014. This is below the national average of $60,516, and second highest in the region, behind Newfoundland and Labrador ($57,112). Alberta households had the highest average spending at $76,535.
Looking closer at types of expenditure, in 2015 Nova Scotia households on average spent $7,478 on Food, $14,172 on Shelter, and $11,029 on transportation. The Canadian average household spending for food, shelter, and transportation were all higher. Nova Scotia households on average spent $4,554 on household operations, $1,980 on household furnishings, $2,723 on clothing and $3,079 on recreation. Compared to 2014, average household spending was down for several of the larger expenditure categories, including clothing, recreation, reading/printed materials, and tobacco and alcohol. Food spending was down 0.7 per cent in 2015, shelter spending was up 0.3 per cent, and household operations expendituers increased 3.3 per cent.
In addition to household consumption, total household spending also includes income taxes, personal insurance payments and pension contributions, and gifts of money, support payments, and charitable contributions. Income taxes constituted 17.5 percent of total household expenditures in 2015, lower than the national average (18.5%). The survey also describes characteristics such as household equipment, noting that cable and satellite television is on the decline compared to 2010, but wireless internet and the occurrence of cellular devices (often multiple per household) are on the rise.
Source: Cansim Table 203-0021 - 203-0033 and Statistics Canada, The Daily: Survey of Household Spending
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