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U . S. D EP A R T M EN T • OF COMMERCE O FFICE OF B U SI N ESS E C O N O M I C S B U SI N ESS N E W S R EP O R T S PERSONAL INCOME - December 1955 O B E 56-9 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, MONDAY, PEEttJARÏ 6 , 1956 Personal income in December was at an annual rate of $315 billion, $3 bil lion higher than in November and almost $22 billion higher than the December 195*+ figure, the Office of Business Economics, U. S. Department of Commerce announced today. An unusually large volume of year-end dividend disbursements accounted for two-thirds of the November-December rise in personal income. Higher wages and transfer payments were responsible for most of the remaining increase. Personal income estimates include wages and salaries, the net income of proprietorships and partnerships -- farm and nonfarm -- as well as dividends and interest, net rents received by landlords, and other types of individual income. The annual rates, which are used to facilitate comparison with pre vious annual totals, represent the seasonally adjusted dollar totals for each month multiplied by 12 . The year as a whole For the full year 1955, personal income amounted to $303|- billion, $15-| billion or 5? percent higher than in 195*+- Nonagricultural income rose by $l6 f- billion while income from agricultural sources declined by about $ 1 bil lion. Most components showed an uptrend throughout the past year. Wages and salaries, nonfarm proprietors' income, interest, and transfer payments each increased by about 6 percent. Dividend disbursements rose by 12 percent, while net rental income was little changed. Total nonagricultural income advanced 6 percent from 19 5 L to 19 5 5 . In absolute terms, wages and salaries accounted for three-fourths of the total increase in nonagricultural income. Payrolls rose most sharply in durablegoods manufacturing industries. The only category of payrolls that was lower in 19 55 than in 195*+ was military, where the reduction was due to a curtailment in number of personnel. Although total civilian employment rose appreciably from 195*)- to 1955, higher average earnings per employee were the main factor in the year-to-year payroll gain. The increase in average earnings reflected primarily higher wage rates, with a longer average work week an important secondary factor. B U S I N E S S N E W S R EP O R T S R EG U L A R L Y A V A I L A B L E — TO TA L M A N U F A C T U R IN G W H O LE S A LE R S ’ SA LES A N D A N D M A N U F A C T U R E R S ’ S A LE S TR A D E IN V E N T O R IE S , IN V E N T O R IE S , A N D M o n t h ly M o n t h ly IN V E N T O R IE S , M o n t h ly P E R SO N A L C A SH IN C O M E , D IV ID E N D N A T IO N A L M o n t h ly P A Y M EN T S. IN C O M E A N D P LA N T M o n t h ly P R O D U CT , Q u a r t e r ly A N D F O R E IG N B A LA N C E E Q U IP M E N T G R A N T S O F A N D S U R V E Y C R E D IT S . IN T E R N A T IO N A L Q u a r t e r ly Q u a r t e r ly P A Y M EN T S, Q u a r t e r ly Dec. 1955 Nov. 1955 Sept • June 1955 1955 315.0 312.0 3 0 7 .9 Wag© and salary disbursements, total... Commodity-producing industries I/...,,....... Distributive industries 1/. Service industries l/....s'....................... Government. 215.7 94.1 57.0 28.6 36.0 215.3 94.0 56.8 28.5 36.0 Other labor income,............. . Proprietors’ and rental income..*.................. Personal interest income and dividends............. Transfer payments ....................... Less personal contributions for social insurance 7.2 50.2 29,9 17.4 5.4 Total personal insane..,,,,,.,.,,,,..... Total nonagricultural income ..... .... Total agricultural income............................ March 1955 Dec. 1954 Full year 1955 1954 301.6 295.7 293.4 303.3 287.6 208.0 90.9 54.9 27.4 34.8 202,6 87.8 53.6 27.0 34.2 198.8 92.2 56,4 28.0 35.8 208.5 90.5 55.1 27.6 35.3 196.2 84.2 52.3 25.9 33.8 7.1 50.2 27.6 17.1 5,3 7.1 49.7 27.1 16.9 5.3 6.9 48.5 26.3 17.1 5.2 6.8 48.5 25.5 17.4 5.1 6.7 48.9 26.5 17.1 7.0 49,1 26.8 17.2 5.2 6.6 48.4 24.7 16.2 4.5 299.8 296.6 293.0 287.2 280.9 278.1 288.4 271.9 15.2 15.4 14.4 14.8 15.3 14.9 15.7 2 12 . 4 14 . 9 ** 8 4 .8 53.1 2 6 .6 34.3 4 .6 1 / " Co m m o d it y -p r o d u c in g i n d u s t r i e s ” c o n s i s t s o f a g r i c u l t u r e , f o r e s t r y a n d f i s h e r i e s , m in in g , c o n t r a c t c o n s t r u c t i o n , and m a n u f a c t u r in g . " D i s t r i b u t i v e i n d u s t r i e s " c o n s i s t s o f -w h o le s a le a nd r e t a i l t r a d e , t r a n s p o r t a t i o n , a n d com m uni c a t io n s and p u b lic u t i l i t i e s , " S e r v i c e i n d u s t r i e s " c o m p ris e s f i n a n c e , i n s u r a n c e , a nd r e a l e s t a t e a n d s e r v i c e s , C o n s i s t s m a in ly o f v e t e r a n s * p a ym e n t s a n d s o c i a l in s u r a n c e b e n e f i t s , 2 / D a t a s i n c e Ja m a r y o f 1 9 5 2 r e p r e s e n t c o n t r i b u t i o n s o f b o t h em p lo yee s a n d s e l f -e m p lo y e d p e r s o n s , Eq u a ls p e r s o n a l in co m e e x c l u s i v e o f n e t in co m e o f u n in c o r p o r a t e d f a rm e n t e r p r i s e s , f a rm w a g e s, a g r i c u l t u r a l n e t i n t e r e s t , a n d n e t d i v i d e n d s p a id b y a g r i c u l t u r a l c o r p o r a t i o n s . ¿ ’J y D e t a i l s o f p e r s o n a l in co m e i n D ecem b er a n d s e l e c t e d m o n th s o f the past y e a r , a s w e l l a s f o r 1 9 5 4 a n d 1955 a s a w h o le , a r e sh ow n i n t h e accompanying t a b le „ MONTHLY PERSONAL INCOME IN THE UNITED STATES (Seasonally adjusted annual rates in billions of dollars)
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