Personal income increased 10.0 percent (monthly rate) while consumer spending increased 2.4 percent in January as provisions of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act enacted on December 27, 2020, began to take effect.
Personal income
The increase in personal income in January was more than accounted for by an increase in government social benefits. Within government social benefits, both “other” social benefits and unemployment insurance increased. The increase in “other” benefits reflected economic impact payments made through the CRRSA Act. Within unemployment insurance, there was an increase in pandemic unemployment compensation payments, which are the supplemental weekly payments to unemployment beneficiaries re-introduced by the CRRSA Act. Additional information on factors affecting monthly personal income can be found on “Effects of Selected Federal Pandemic Response Programs on Personal Income.”
Consumer spending
Current-dollar consumer spending increased in January, reflecting increases in goods and services.
- Within goods, both durable goods (led by recreational goods and vehicles, notably information processing equipment) and nondurable goods (led by food and beverages) contributed to the increase, based on Census Monthly Retail Trade Survey (MRTS) data.
- Within services, the increase was led by food services and accommodations (notably, food services), based on MRTS data. Spending for health care (led by outpatient services) also increased, reflecting data on the volume of visits as well as revenue data.
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