Full text of Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) News Releases : Personal Income and Outlays: January 2006, BEA 06-06 : Highlights: Personal Income, Consumer Spending Rose in January

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WEDNESDAY March 1, 2006

PERSONAL INCOME, CONSUMER SPENDING
ROSE IN JANUARY
Personal income rose 0.7 percent in January after rising 0.5 percent in December, according to estimates
released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Over the past twelve months, personal income has
risen 5.8 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

*
* Reflects impact of the Microsoft special dividend

-5

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Real Disposable Personal Income

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Real Consumer Spending

Personal Income
Wages and salaries, the largest component of personal income, grew 0.7 percent in January after growing 0.4
percent in December.
Personal current transfer receipts increased 1.8 percent after increasing 0.6 percent. The acceleration reflected
payments from the new Medicare Prescription Drug Plan and cost-of-living adjustments to several federal
programs.
Real disposable personal income, the amount of personal income available for spending or saving, increased 0.1
percent after rising 0.5 percent. Over the past twelve months, real disposable personal income has risen 2.2
percent.
Consumer Spending
Real consumer spending increased 0.4 percent in January after increasing 0.7 percent in December. The increase
in January partly reflected an acceleration in spending on nondurable goods.

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 March 31, 2006, the February estimate of Personal Income will be released.
Contact: Ralph Stewart 202–606–2649

Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce