FINANCE FACTS - Monthly Publication on Consumer Financial Behavior - Future Householders

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Logic

FINANCE FACTS presents monthly analysis of consumer and economic indicators, focusing on household structure, manufacturing capacity use, food costs, and credit conditions. It outlines projected growth in future householders by sex, age, and relationship status, links production utilization trends to recent month-to-month changes, and compares food basket costs across 1978 and 1979. Additional sections track consumer installment credit totals, producer price index movements, consumer confidence shifts, and business expectations trends.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

FUTURE HOUSEHOLDERS

CAPACITY UTILIZATION

COST OF FOOD AT HOME

CONSUMER INSTALLMENT CREDIT

PRODUCER PRICE INDEXES

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE

BUSINESSMEN’S EXPECTATIONS

# FINANCE FACTS A Monthly Publication on Consumer Financial Behavior Any or all the material in this publication may be quoted or reproduced. q603 AUGUST 1979 ## FUTURE HOUSEHOLDERS Husband-wife and OtherHouseholders by Sex and Age,1978 and Projected 1985 Number of households in 1985 is estimated at 88.5 million—a 16.4%increase over 76.0 million in 1978.Estimate is based on projectionidentified by Census Bureau as Series C. Husband-wife households are estimated to increase by 7.6%—from 47.4million in 1978 to51.0 million in 1985.Two age groups do not share in theincrease;the householders under 25 years of age drop from 2.9million to 2.2 million;householders 45 to 54 years of age drop from 9.1 million to 8.6million.The term,householder,refers to person maintaining the house-hold and was formerly referred to as the head of household. Other than husband-wife households (individuals living alone,familieswith only one parent in household,or unrelated individuals)will increaseby 31.0%,from 28.7 million in 1978 to 37.6 million in 1985.Greatestpercentage rise,approximately 60%,will be for householders in the agebrackets 25 to 54 years of age.Female householders will increase by 26.9%(from 19.3 million to 24.5 million)while male householders willincrease by 39.3%(from 9.4 million to 13.1 million). Total householders over 65 years of age will increase by 17.0%(from 15.3 million in 1978 to 17.9 million in 1985).Total householders under 25years of age will increase by 6.5%,from 6.2 million to 6.6 million. ## CAPACITY UTILIZATION Utilization of manufacturing capacity in June declined by 0.5 percentagepoint from May rate.Since March,utilization rate for manufacturing hasdeclined 1.3 percentage points and in June,at 85.0%rate,was 3 pointsbelow its 1973 high.Industrial materials producers operated at 86.6%ofcapacity in June,compared to 86.8%in May.Industrial materials rate hasdeclined by 1.5 percentage points since end 1978 and was 6.5 percentagepoints below 1973 high. ## COST OF FOOD AT HOME Cost of similar market baskets of food rose over 13%between March1978 and March 1979.Examples of low-cost plan in March 1979 were$61.10 for food for one week for family of four with school children and$36.40 for family of two between 20 and 54 years of age,compared to$54.20 and $32.40,respectively,for March 1978. Liberal plan for food at home for one week was estimated to cost family offour with children in school $91.80 and for family of two between 20 and54 years of age $54.70. ## Consumer Expectations CONSUMER INSTALLMENT CREDIT Total consumer installment credit at end May 1979 was $287.6 billion.Ofthis amount,$109.2 billion was outstanding in automobile credit,$46.5billion in revolving credit,$16.5 billion in mobile home credit,and$115.5 billion in all other credit (consisting of revolving credit,otherconsumer goods and personal loans). Net increase in installment credit outstanding by type since end May1978 amounted to $44.2 billion.Of this increase,$18.8 billion was inautomobile credit,$7.5 billion in revolving credit,$1.1 billion in mobilehome credit and $16.9 billion in all other credit. ## PRODUCER PRICE INDEXES Producer Price Index for Finished Goods rose 0.5%from May to June onseasonally adjusted basis.June increase followed 0.4%rise in May andmuch larger advances in each of 8 months before that.Prices for inter-mediate goods moved up almost as much as in most other months so farthis year.Rise in crude material prices was about same as in May. Among finished goods,prices for consumer foods declined about as muchas in May.Prices for consumer nondurables other than foods advanced 2.0%in June,largest monthly increase since June 1974.For 3 monthsended in June,consumer nondurables index rose at a 23.1%annual rate,compared with 14.7%annual rate in first quarter 1979.In June,pricescontinued to move up rapidly for home heating oil(8.4%)and gasoline (3.7%)Index for consumer durables advanced 0.4%in June,fo

FAQs

What household trends are projected for 1985 compared with 1978?

The number of households in 1985 is estimated at 88.5 million, a 16.4% increase over 76.0 million in 1978. Husband-wife households are projected to rise, while certain younger age groups decline.

How did manufacturing capacity utilization change in June versus May?

Utilization of manufacturing capacity in June declined by 0.5 percentage point from the May rate. Since March, the utilization rate for manufacturing has declined by 1.3 percentage points, with June at 85.0%.

How did consumer confidence and major buying plans shift in June 1979?

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell to 76.9 in June from 79.5 in May. Buying Plans Index edged up to 95.5, while home-buying plans fell back to 3.1%.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Logic

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