Real income, household consumption up in EU, eurozone

ISTANBUL

Household consumption and real income per capita both increased in the EU and eurozone in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the previous quarter, official data by Eurostat showed on Tuesday.

In the EU, household consumption per capita rose by 0.8%, after an increase of 0.1% in the previous quarter.


Meanwhile, household real income per capita increased by 0.6% in the third quarter of 2024, slightly improving from a 0.5% rise in the second quarter.

Household real consumption per capita increased by 0.8% in the eurozone, accelerating the 0.1% increase in the previous quarter.


In the eurozone, household real income per capita increased 0.4% in the third quarter of 2024, slightly rising from the 0.3% increase in the second quarter of 2024.

Among the sub-indexes, the EU saw a 0.9% growth in household gross disposable income, while the euro area saw a 0.7% gain.


"The increase is mainly explained by the large positive contribution of compensation of employees and social benefits in both the euro area and the EU. Conversely, current taxes and net social contributions was the main negative contributor," the Eurostat said.


On the other hand, the third quarter of 2024 saw a 0.4% decline in the euro area's saving rate and a 0.3% decline in the EU savings rate.


Five countries in the EU saw an increase in the household saving rate, one saw no change, and nine saw a decline. The biggest rise was in Greece with 1.9%, followed by Finland and Spain with 1.1% each.


The biggest declines, however, were noted in Denmark with 2.4% and Hungary with 5.6%.

The eurozone/euro area, or EA20, represents member states that use the bloc’s single currency, the euro, while the EU27 includes all member countries.