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U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE OFFICE OF BUSINESS ECONOMICS BUSINESS NEWS REPORTS PERSONAL INCOME, MARCH 1950 > F O R RELEASE-Friday Morning, May 12, 1950 O B E 364 Personal income in March, inclusive of the special insurance dividend * payments to veterans, was at an annual rate of $222. 7 billion, #3.6 billion higher than in February, the Office of Business Economics, U. S. Department of Commerce announced today. The Department emphasized that three-fourths of the February-Mareh rise in personal income was due to special factors — the resumption of coal mining operations following the settlement of the labor-management dispute and in creased payments to veterans from the National Service Life Insurance fund. After allowance for these special factors, personal income increased from February to March by an annual rate of #1 billion. All major components ex cept proprietors * income contributed to this increase. A slight increase in nonfarm proprietors’ income was more than offset by a drop in the income of farm proprietors. Personal income estimates include wage and salary receipts, the net in comes 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 previous annual totals, represent the seasonally adjusted dollar totals for each month multiplied by 12. Total wage and salary receipts in March, at an annual rate of #135.2 billion, were $2.1 billion higher than in the previous month. About $1.4 billion of the rise occurred in mining with the areturn of the soft coal miners to work. Small increases were reported in durable-goods manufacturing, railroad, retail trade, and farm pay rolls. Wages in the durable-goods manu facturing industries in March, although slightly below the same month of last year, were higher than in any month since then. Total wage and salary re ceipts were higher in March than in any other month since January 1949. Transfer payments rose from an annual rate of $22.1 billion in February to $23.5 billion in March. The rise resulted very largely from increased N.S.L.I. dividend payments. These payments amounted to $788 million in February and #887 million in March. When expressed at annual rates to con form with other personal income data, the payments were at annual rates of #9.5 billion in February and $10.7 billion in March. By the end of March about three-fourths of the scheduled $2.8 billion disbursement of veterans’ dividends had actually been paid out. BE BUSINESS NEWS REPORTS REGULARLY AVAILABLE; BUSINESS INVENTORIES, Monthly CASH DIVIDEND PAYMENTS, Monthly Vl HOLESALERS^ g^ g AND INVENTORIES, Mont hly RETAIL STORE SALES, Mont hly PLANT AND EQUIPMENT SURVEY, Quarterly BALANCE OF INTERNATIONAL PAYMENTS, Quarterly PERSONAL INCOME, Mont hly CHAIN STORE AND MAIL ORDER SALES, Mont hly MANUFACTURERS' SALES AND INVENTORIES, Mont hly - 2 - Proprietors’ and rental income declined from an annual rate of #44-.1 ■billion in February to $43.7 billion in March. This decrease was concentrated in the income of farm proprietors, which, on a monthly basis, exhibits con siderable irregularity. The March reduction in farm income stemmed from a decrease in the seasonally adjusted volume of crops marketed or placed under Government loan. However, farm proprietors’ volume of crops marketed or placed under Government loan. However, farm proprietors’ income in the first quarter of 1950 was about'the same as in the last quarter of 1949. Details of personal income data for March 1950, March 1949, and other recent periods are shown in the following table. \ ■10601 Monthly Personal Income in the United States (Seasonally adjusted annual rates in billions of dollars) Feb. 1949 Jan. 1949 210.2 132.3 134.6 57.4 39.4 17.3 20.5 211.3 134.0 136.3 59.4 39.5 17.0 20.4 214.6 135.9 138.2 60.5 40.3 17.1 20.3 2.8 2.2 46.5 17.4 18.3 2.3 2.1 46.2 17.0 12.6 2.3 2.1 46.6 17.0 11.6 198.7 19.4 190.5 19.7 191.0 20.3 March 1950 Feb. 1950 Jan. 1950 Total personal income ............. ........ V/age and salary receipts .............. . Total employer disbursements ....y...... Commodity-producing industries^' ...... Distributive industries!/ ------ ...... Service industries!/ ............ . — . Government ....... Less employee contributions for social insurance .................... Other labor income ..... ....... .......... Proprietors' and rental income ........... Personal interest income and dividends ... Transfer payments^/ ..... . 222.7 135.2 138.0 58.4 40.2 17.8 21.6 219.1 133.1 135.8 56.5 39.9 17.8 21.6 218.1 133.7 136.5 57.1 40.1 17.6 21.7 2.8 2.4 43.7 17.9 23.5 2.7 2.2 44.1 17.6 22.1 Total nonagricultural i n c o m e ^ / .... . Total agricultural income .......... 206.7 16.0 202.7 16.4 March 1949 Full year 1949 1948 209.8 133.5 135.7 57.3 40.2 17.2 21.0 211.9 133.1 135.2 60.4 39.2 16.6 19.1 2.3 2.2 2.0 2.1 44.8 48.5 17.0 17.3 11.2 ' 12.2 2.1 2.0 49.5 16.2 11.1 192.0 22.6 191.4 18.4 188.8 23.1 -10601 1/ "Commodity-producing industries" consists of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, mining, con tract construction, and manufacturing. "Distributive industries" consists of wholesale and retail trade, transportation, and communications and public utilities. "Service industries" comprises fi nance, insurance, and real estate and services. 2/ Consists mainly of veterans' payments and social insurance benefits, including the National Service Life Insurance dividend. 3/ Equals personal income exclusive of net income of unincorporated farm enterprises, farm wages, agricultural net rents, agricultural net interest, and net dividends paid by agricultural corporations. I » 1
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