U.S. Personal Income +0.9% in Sept; Consensus +0.5% -- Update
31 October 2020 - 12:19AM
Dow Jones News
By Amara Omeokwe
U.S. households increased spending 1.4% in September for the
fifth straight month as higher pay and remaining pandemic aid
helped boost incomes by 0.9%.
The Commerce Department said personal consumption
expenditures--a measure of household spending on goods and
services--rose in September. Consumers have increased spending
since the summer, although the pace of gains slowed into early
fall.
Personal income--a measure of what households receive from wages
and salaries, government aid and investments--was up last month,
after a sharp decline in August.
Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected a 1%
increase in spending, and a 0.5% rise in personal income.
The pickup in personal income reflected an increase in employee
compensation and the affect of a federal supplement to state
unemployment benefits that provides recipients with an extra $300
weekly. The Commerce Department said August's drop in personal
income was due mostly to the end of a separate program that
provided a $600 weekly bonus to recipients of unemployment
benefits.
On the spending front, consumers boosted outlays on autos,
clothing, health care, fitness and entertainment services.
Richard Moody, chief economist at Regions Financial Corp., said
spending trends have reflected an ongoing economic upturn,
particularly among households that have seen limited job and income
losses.
"You still think overall, consumer spending is going to continue
to grow, just maybe not as strongly as it otherwise would have if
either the labor market were fully healed or there having been
another round of financial assistance," from the federal
government, Mr. Moody said.
Write to Amara Omeokwe at amara.omeokwe@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 30, 2020 09:04 ET (13:04 GMT)
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