US Personal Income Rose 0.2% in September, Spending Up 0.5%
Americans increased spending at more than double the pace of income growth in September, nudging the personal saving rate down to 3.8%.
Personal income in the United States climbed $54.5 billion, or 0.2 percent, in September, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported, as consumers continued to open their wallets at a faster clip than their earnings grew.
Personal consumption expenditures surged $113.1 billion, a 0.5 percent monthly gain that outpaced income growth by more than two to one. Total personal outlays, which include interest payments and current transfer payments in addition to consumption, rose $113.0 billion over the same period.
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Disposable personal income — what households retain after paying current taxes — edged up $52.7 billion, also a 0.2 percent increase. The gap between that figure and the pace of spending compressed the personal saving rate to 3.8 percent, with total personal saving recorded at $911.1 billion for the month.
The BEA data offer a closely watched snapshot of household financial health and consumer demand. When spending consistently outpaces income growth, it can signal either confidence in economic conditions or a gradual erosion of household financial buffers — a distinction analysts will weigh against broader labor market and inflation data in the weeks ahead.
Continue reading at U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
