U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

Personal income increased 2.6 percent in December after increasing 1.0 percent in November. Accelerated bonus payments of $30 billion (at an annual rate) in December and $15 billion in November boosted wages and salaries. Accelerated dividend payments of $291.0 billion in December and $25.8 billion in November, made in anticipation of tax law changes, boosted personal dividend income.

Current-dollar disposable personal income (DPI), after-tax income, increased 2.7 percent in December after increasing 1.0 percent in November.

Real DPI, income adjusted for taxes and inflation, grew 2.8 percent in December after increasing 1.3 percent in November.

Real consumer spending, spending adjusted for price changes, increased 0.2 percent in December after increasing 0.6 percent in November.

PCE prices remained flat in December after decreasing 0.2 percent in November.

Personal saving rate
Personal saving as a percent of DPI was 6.5 percent in December, the highest rate since May 2009.

To learn more about personal income and outlays, read the full report.

Personal income increased 0.6 percent in November after increasing 0.1 percent in October. Wages and salaries increased 0.6 percent in November after decreasing 0.3 percent in October. The October decrease reflected work interruptions caused by Hurricane Sandy, which reduced wages and salaries by 0.3 percent.

Current-dollar disposable personal income (DPI), after-tax income, increased 0.6 percent in November after increasing 0.1 percent in October.

Real DPI, income adjusted for taxes and inflation, grew 0.8 percent in November after decreasing 0.1 percent in October.

Real consumer spending, spending adjusted for price changes, increased 0.6 percent in November after falling 0.2 percent in October. Spending on durable goods increased 2.9 percent in November after falling 0.9 percent in October.

PCE prices decreased 0.2 percent in November after increasing 0.1 percent in October.

Personal saving rate
Personal saving as a percent of DPI was 3.6 percent in November, compared with 3.4 percent in October.

To learn more about personal income and outlays, read the full report.

Personal income remained flat in October after increasing 0.4 percent in September. Wages and salaries decreased 0.2 percent in October after increasing 0.3 percent in September. The October decrease reflected work interruptions caused by Hurricane Sandy, which reduced wages and salaries by 0.3 percent. For more information, see the personal income news release.

Current-dollar disposable personal income (DPI), after-tax income, remained flat in October after increasing 0.4 percent in September.

Real DPI, income adjusted for taxes and inflation, fell 0.1 percent in October after remaining flat in September.

Real consumer spending, spending adjusted for price changes, fell 0.3 percent in October after rising 0.4 percent in September. The decline was the largest since September 2009. Spending on durable goods fell 1.7 percent in October after rising 2.2 percent in September.

PCE prices increased 0.1 percent in October after increasing 0.3 percent in September. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index increased 0.1 percent in October, the same increase as in September.

Personal saving rate
Personal saving as a percent of DPI was 3.4 percent in October, compared with 3.3 percent in September.

Personal income rose in 3,062 of the nation’s 3,113 counties in 2011, with growth ranging from 62.2 percent in King County, TX, to –28.8 percent in Lynn County, TX. Of the 50 counties with the fastest personal income growth in 2011, 45 were located in the Plains Region—with 41 of the 45 counties located in Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Increases in farm income were a major factor in the growth rates for most of these counties. Inflation, as measured by the national price index for personal consumption expenditures, accelerated to 2.4 percent in 2011 from 1.9 percent in 2010.

Per capita personal income (personal income divided by population) in counties in 2011 ranged from $121,301 in New York County (Manhattan), NY, to $16,752 in Crowley County, CO. Of the nation’s 3,113 counties, 609 (19.6 percent) had 2011 per capita personal income levels that exceeded the nation’s average of $41,560.

For more information about personal income, read the full report.