Personal Income and Outlays, June 2018 Comprehensive Update: 1929 Through May 2018

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 $71.7 billion (0.4 percent) in June according to estimates released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Disposable personal income (DPI) increased $65.3 billion (0.4 percent) and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $57.1 billion (0.4 percent).

Real DPI increased 0.3 percent in June and Real PCE increased 0.3 percent. The PCE price index increased 0.1 percent. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index increased 0.1 percent.

The increase in personal income in June primarily reflected increases in wages and salaries and personal dividend income (table 3).

The $39.7 billion increase in real PCE in June primarily reflected an increase of $36.4 billion in spending for services. The largest contributor to the increase was spending for food services and accommodations (table 7). Spending for goods increased $1.3 billion. Detailed information on monthly real PCE spending can be found in Table 2.3.6U.

Personal outlays increased $62.7 billion in June (table 3). Personal saving was $1,049.7 billion in June and the personal saving rate, personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income, was 6.8 percent (table 1).

Comprehensive Update of the National Income and Product Accounts

Comprehensive updates of the National Income and Product Accounts (NIPAs), which are conducted about every five years, are an important part of BEA’s regular process for improving and modernizing its accounts to keep pace with the ever-changing U.S. economy. Updates incorporate newly available and more comprehensive source data, as well as improved estimation methodologies. The timespan for this year's comprehensive update is 1929 through May 2018.

With the release of these updated statistics, most NIPA tables are available on BEA's Web site (www.bea.gov). A complete schedule of the table release plan is also available on BEA’s Web site. An article describing the results will be published in the September 2018 issue of BEA’s monthly journal, the Survey of Current Business.

Updates

Revisions to annual estimates of personal income and outlays for 2013 through 2017 are shown in table 12. Revised and previously published monthly estimates of personal income, DPI, PCE, personal saving as a percentage of DPI, real DPI, and real PCE are shown in table 13. Revised and previously published annual and quarterly estimates are shown in table 14.

Personal income was revised up $107.4 billion, or 0.8 percent in 2013; $173.6 billion, or 1.2 percent in 2014; $166.6 billion, or 1.1 percent in 2015; $196.4 billion, or 1.2 percent in 2016; and $401.9 billion, or 2.4 percent in 2017.

For 2013, the revision to personal income primarily reflected a $118.3 billion upward revision to nonfarm proprietors’ income.

For 2014, the revision to personal income primarily reflected a $129.9 billion upward revision to nonfarm proprietors’ income and a $44.5 billion revision to personal interest income.

For 2015, the revision to personal income primarily reflected a $100.4 billion upward revision to nonfarm proprietors’ income and a $70.8 billion revision to personal interest income.

For 2016, the revision to personal income primarily reflected a $113.2 billion revision to personal dividend income and a $83.1 billion revision to nonfarm proprietors’ income.

For 2017, the revision to personal income primarily reflected a $143.3 billion revision to personal dividend income, a $111.2 billion revision to nonfarm proprietors’ income, a $100.6 billion revision to wages and salaries, and a $45.9 billion revision to personal interest income.

Revisions to nonfarm proprietors’ income for 2007-2017 primarily reflect revisions to estimates of underreported income. Estimates of underreported income for nonfarm proprietors are revised based on newly available Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax gap data, which is a component of the IRS’ National Research Program. These adjustments to IRS source data are designed to correct for the effects of taxpayer underreporting. Table 7.14 shows the adjustment for misreporting on income tax returns.

Revisions to personal dividend income in 2016 and 2017 primarily reflect the incorporation of newly available IRS Statistics of Income data. The personal saving rate was revised up 1.4 percentage points to 6.4 percent in 2013, up 1.6 percentage points to 7.3 percent in 2014, up 1.5 percentage points to 7.6 percent in 2015, up 1.8 percentage points to 6.7 percent in 2016, and up 3.3 percentage points to 6.7 percent in 2017. From 2012 to 2017, the average annual rate of growth of real disposable personal income was revised up 0.4 percentage point from 1.8 percent to 2.2 percent.