October 29, 2012

Personal income increased 0.4 percent in September after increasing 0.1 percent in August. Wages and salaries, the largest component of personal income, increased 0.3 percent in September after increasing 0.1 percent in August. Government social benefits to persons turned up in September.

Current-dollar disposable personal income (DPI), after-tax income, increased 0.4 percent in September after increasing 0.1 percent in August.

Real DPI, income adjusted for taxes and inflation, remained flat in September after decreasing 0.3 percent in August.

Real consumer spending, spending adjusted for price changes, increased 0.4 percent in September after increasing 0.1 percent in August. Spending on nondurable goods rose 0.5 percent after increasing 0.4 percent, while spending on services increased 0.2 percent after decreasing 0.2 percent.

PCE (personal consumption expenditures) prices increased 0.4 percent in September, the same increase as in August. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index increased 0.1 percent in September, the same increase as in August.

Personal saving rate
Personal saving as a percent of DPI was 3.3 percent in September, compared with 3.7 percent in August.

To learn more about personal income and outlays, read the full report.