How family spending has changed in the U.S

Since the Monthly Labor Review began, the proportion of family expenditures allocated for food has dropped by half, the incidence of homeownership has doubled, and spending for transportation, medical care, and recreation has increased significantly

Over the decades since the Monthly Labor Review was first published in 1915, significant changes have taken place in the economy and in the demographic composition of the U.S. population. Wars, the Great Depression, recessions, booms, and energy crises have in turn affected the economic status of the American family. Over the same period, the population shifted both by age composition and geographically. By the 1980's, the baby-boomers of the post-World War II period were themselves entering the family formation years at the same time that a larger proportion of the population was entering retirement years. These changes were accompanied by increases in the numbers of women--including mothers of small children--in the labor force; increased frequency of single parenthood and one-person households; and a decline in family size.