Americans' personal income growth, spending both gain pace in September

ISTANBUL

Americans' personal income growth and personal spending gained pace in September from the previous month, according to figures released Thursday.

Personal income climbed $71.6 billion, or 0.3%, in September, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The figure was in line with estimates and gained pace from a 0.2% increase in August.

"The increase in current-dollar personal income in September primarily reflected increases in compensation and personal current transfer receipts that were partly offset by decreases in personal interest income and proprietors’ income," the agency said in a statement.

Disposable personal income, which is personal income minus personal current taxes, rose $57.4 billion in September, or 0.3%, from the previous month.

Personal spending, meanwhile, also referred to as personal consumption expenditures (PCE), increased $105.8 billion, or 0.5%, in September from the previous month.

That figure was higher than expectations of 0.4%, while it also showed an acceleration from a 0.3% gain in August.

"The $105.8 billion increase in current-dollar PCE in September reflected an increase of $72.1 billion in spending for services and an increase of $33.7 billion in spending for goods," said the agency.

Total personal savings at $1T

Within services, the largest contributors to the increase were health care, housing and utilities, said the US Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Within goods, the biggest contributors to the increase were other non-durable goods, led by prescription drugs, followed by food and beverages, and motor vehicles and parts, it added.

The personal income figure for August, meanwhile, was revised to $57 billion from $50.5 billion for an increase of 0.2%.

Disposable personal income for August also saw an upward revision to $37.7 billion from $34.2 billion -- a gain of 0.2%.

The figure for personal consumption expenditures for August, meanwhile, was revised to $55.5 billion from $47.2 billion, or a gain of 0.3% from 0.2%.

Personal outlays increased $106.3 billion in September, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis. The figure reflects the sum of personal consumption expenditures, personal interest payments and personal current transfer payments.

Total personal savings, meanwhile, came in at $1 trillion last month.

The personal saving rate, which shows personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income, was 4.6% in September.