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MONDAY October 30, 2006

PERSONAL INCOME ACCELERATES,
CONSUMER SPENDING TURNS UP
Real disposable personal income, the amount available for spending or saving, increased 0.8 percent in
September after increasing 0.2 percent in August. Real consumer spending increased 0.4 percent after
decreasing 0.1 percent, according to estimates released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Real Disposable Personal Income and
Real Consumer Spending
5

Percent change(monthly)

4
3
2

*

1
0
-1
-2
-3
-4
* Reflects impact of Hurricane Katrina
-5

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Real Disposable Personal Income

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Real Consumer Spending

Personal Income and Spending
Personal income, a broad measure that includes all sources of income, rose 0.5 percent in September, after
increasing 0.4 percent in August.
Wages and salaries, the largest component of personal income, increased 0.5 percent after increasing 0.2
percent. Growth turned up in private industries, reflecting an upturn in services industries.
The upturn in real consumer spending reflected upturns in spending for durable and nondurable goods.
Prices
The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index decreased 0.3 percent in September, reflecting a
decline in energy prices. In August, the PCE price index rose 0.3 percent.

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 November 30, 2006, the October estimate of Personal Income will be released.
Contact: Ralph Stewart 202–606–2649

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