Personal Income and Outlays, April 2017

Historical release narrative reproduced from the official public-domain U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis source. Statistical tables, charts, standard technical appendices and administrative material are omitted; formatting is adapted for reading. Figures retain the release's original vintage and may have been revised. Consult the linked source for the complete release and current data.

Personal income increased $58.4 billion (0.4 percent) in April according to estimates released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Disposable personal income (DPI) increased $56.5 billion (0.4 percent) and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $53.2 billion (0.4 percent).

Real DPI increased 0.2 percent in April and Real PCE increased 0.2 percent. The PCE price index increased 0.2 percent. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index increased 0.2 percent.

QCEW Data Included in the Fourth Quarter of 2016

This news release includes revised estimates of wages and salaries, personal taxes, and contributions for government social insurance for October through December 2016 (fourth quarter). These estimates reflect the incorporation of the most recently available fourth-quarter wage and salary tabulations from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program.

The increase in personal income in April primarily reflected an increase in private wages and salaries (table 3).

The increase in real PCE in April was more than accounted for by an increase in spending for both durable and nondurable goods, led by increases in recreational goods and vehicles and gasoline (table 7).

Personal outlays increased $56.4 billion in April (table 3). Personal saving was $759.1 billion in April and the personal saving rate, personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income, was 5.3 percent (table 1).

Updates

Estimates have been updated for October 2016 through March 2017. The percent change from the preceding month for current-dollar personal income and for current-dollar and chained (2009) dollar DPI and PCE -- revised and previously published -- are shown below for February and March.

Upcoming Annual Update of the National Income and Product Accounts

As part of the annual update of the national income and product accounts (NIPAs), revised estimates of personal income and outlays will be released with initial estimates for June 2017 on August 1, 2017. This regular update of the accounts will cover the most recent 3 years and the first 5 months of 2017. For more information, see the, see the GDP Technical Note.