US Personal Income and Outlays for August

On Wednesday, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported that personal income (PI) rose $66.6 billion, or 0.2%, at a monthly rate in August. Disposable personal income (DPI)—personal income less personal current taxes—rose $68.6 billion, or 0.3%. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $190.8 billion, or 0.9%.

Month-over-month, the PCE price index rose 0.3%. Excluding food and energy, the index increased 0.2%.

Year-over-year, the PCE price index rose 3.4% in August. Excluding food and energy, the index was up 3.0%.

Personal outlays—the sum of PCE, personal interest payments, and personal current transfer payments—rose $190.7 billion in August. Personal saving was $990.2 billion, and the personal saving rate—personal saving as a percentage of DPI—was 4.1%.

The increase in current-dollar personal income primarily reflected increases in compensation and government social benefits. The $190.8 billion increase in current-dollar PCE reflected a $114.1 billion increase in spending on goods and a $76.7 billion increase in spending on services. Real PCE increased $92.8 billion, or 0.6%, at a monthly rate.