[Excerpt] Consumer units spent $40,677, on average, in 2002, an increase of 2.9 percent over the previous year. Spending rose 3.9 percent in 2001 and 2.8 percent in 2000. The increase in spending in 2002 was more than the 1.6-percent annual average rise in general price levels over the year, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This report shows the latest results from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey.