R.I. consumer spending growth lags New England, nation, ’09-12

RHODE ISLAND'S 2012 per capita consumer spending of $36,974 was the lowest in New England, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. / COURTESY U.S. BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
RHODE ISLAND'S 2012 per capita consumer spending of $36,974 was the lowest in New England, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. / COURTESY U.S. BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

PROVIDENCE – Per capita consumer spending in Rhode Island grew 9 percent between 2009 and 2012, signifying improved consumer confidence since the Great Recession but lagging New England and U.S. spending growth for the same period, according to U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data released Thursday.

In 2012, the most recent year for which the BEA provided consumer spending numbers, Rhode Island per capita personal spending totaled $36,974, an increase of 9 percent over the $33,931 per capita reported for 2009, the year after the recession began. By comparison, consumer spending in New England grew 11.3 percent during the same three years to $44,549 per capita as spending nationwide climbed 10.7 percent.

Per capita consumer spending throughout the United States totaled $35,498 in 2012. New England’s $44,549 per capita was the highest of any region in the country.

Rhode Island’s consumer spending growth during the three years from 2009 to 2012 also lagged pre-recession spending growth. Between 2005 and 2008, the three years before the recession began, consumer spending in the Ocean State grew 9.4 percent.

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The state in New England with the highest spending growth rate was Vermont at 12.9 percent, followed by Massachusetts at 12.1 percent, New Hampshire at 12 percent, Maine at 11.1 percent and Connecticut at 9.8 percent. Rhode Island’s 9 percent consumer spending growth rate was the lowest in the region.

In 2012, Rhode Islanders spent $2,804 per capita on food and beverage purchases, less than any other New England state. Local residents also spent $1,122 per capita on gas and other energy expenses, $7,421 on housing and utilities and $6,700 on health care costs.

Regionally, New England’s housing and utilities expenditures (totaling $8,178 per capita), food and beverage purchases ($3,299 per capita) and health care costs ($7,785 per capita) were the highest in the country for 2012.

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