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FRIDAY March 31, 2006 PERSONAL INCOME, CONSUMER SPENDING ROSE IN FEBRUARY Personal income rose 0.3 percent in February after rising 0.7 percent in January, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Over the past twelve months, personal income has risen 5.6 percent. Real disposable personal income and real consumer spending also rose. Real Disposable Personal Income and Real Consumer Spending 5 4 * Reflects impact of Hurricane Katrina Percent change (monthly) 3 * 2 1 0 -1 -2 * -3 -4 -5 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Real Disposable Personal Income Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Real Consumer Spending Personal Income Wages and salaries, the largest component of personal income, increased 0.4 percent in February after increasing 0.7 percent in January. Transfer payments increased 0.3 percent after increasing 1.8 percent. The acceleration in January reflected payments for the new Medicare Part D prescription plan and cost-of-living adjustments to several other Federal benefit plans. Real disposable personal income, the amount of personal income available for spending or saving, increased 0.2 percent after rising 0.1 percent. Over the past twelve months, real disposable personal income has risen 2.2 percent. Consumer Spending Real consumer spending increased 0.1 percent in February after increasing 0.3 percent in January. The increase in February reflected an acceleration in spending on services. BEA data—including GDP, personal income, the balance of payments, foreign direct investment, the input-output accounts, and economic data for states, local areas, and industries—are available on the BEA Web site: www.bea.gov. E-mail alerts are also available. NOTE: On May 1, 2006, the March estimate of Personal Income will be released. Contact: Ralph Stewart 202–606–2649 Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce
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