More good news coming from the recession: the personal savings rate continues to increase, hitting 6.9% in May.
That’s up from 5.6% in April, and the highest since December of 1993, when it was 7.6% (according to the Wall Street Journal).
At the same time, spending was up 0.3% in May and disposable personal income increased 1.6%, thanks in part to the economic stimulus package, the WSJ says.
Here’s the unedited text, via the Bureau of Economic Analysis, which publishes the data:
Personal income increased $167.1 billion, or 1.4 percent, and disposable personal income (DPI) increased $178.1 billion, or 1.6 percent, in May, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $25.1 billion, or 0.3 percent. In April, personal income increased $78.3 billion, or 0.7 percent, DPI increased $140.0 billion, or 1.3 percent, and PCE increased $1.0 billion, or less than 0.1 percent, based on revised estimates. The pattern of changes in personal income and in DPI reflect, in part, the pattern of increased government social benefit payments associated with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
The total personal savings in May — $768.8 billion — is the largest amount since the number began being tracked in 1959.
Income, Spending Rise on Stimulus – Wall Street Journal
Personal Income and Outlays – Bureau of Economic Analysis National Economic Accounts
