The Singapore Department of Statistics (DOS) is moving into the final month of its year-long survey Household Expenditure Survey (HES) which started in October last year.

The survey covers 11,000 households, which are divided into 26 groups with each group being surveyed for a period of two weeks. The 25th and 26th groups of households will be surveyed starting Sept 2 and Sept 16, respectively, and will cover areas in Ang Mo Kio, Farrer Park, Jurong West, Punggol, Queenstown, Tampines and Upper Thomson.

Survey officers carrying identification cards and letters of authorisation issued by the DOS will visit the selected households. Households are requested to provide their full cooperation. Anyone who wish to verify the identity of the survey officers may call the HES hotline at 1800-888-1213 from 8.30am to 10.00pm, Monday to Sunday, including public holidays.

Conducted once every five years, the HES collects up-to-date information on households' expenditure for updating the weighting pattern and the basket of goods and services used in the compilation of the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Data from the survey also serve as inputs for social and economic policy planning and formulation as well as studies on income and expenditure patterns.