Personal Income and Outlays, December 2020

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 $116.6 billion (0.6 percent) in December according to estimates released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (tables 3 and 5). Disposable personal income (DPI) increased $111.6 billion (0.6 percent) and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) decreased $27.9 billion (0.2 percent).

Real DPI increased 0.2 percent in December and Real PCE decreased 0.6 percent (tables 5 and 7). The PCE price index increased 0.4 percent. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index increased 0.3 percent (table 9).

The increase in personal income in December primarily reflected increases in government social benefits, compensation, and personal dividend income that were partly offset by a decrease in proprietors’ income (table 3).

Within government social benefits, unemployment insurance increased reflecting an increase in pandemic unemployment compensation, the supplemental weekly payments to unemployment beneficiaries re-introduced through the CRRSA Act. There was also an increase in “other” social benefits, reflecting an increase in payments from the Provider Relief Fund to nonprofit institutions.

Within compensation, the main contributor was an increase in wages and salaries in service-producing industries based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Employment Statistics.

The increase in personal dividend income reflected data from company financial reports.

Within proprietors’ income, both farm and nonfarm decreased based on declines in Paycheck Protection Program loans to businesses. Farm proprietors’ income was also impacted by a decrease in payments under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.

The $79.8 billion decrease in real PCE in December reflected a decrease of $71.9 billion in spending for goods and a $17.6 billion decrease in spending for services (table 7). Within goods, durable goods (led by recreational goods and vehicles) and nondurable goods (led by food and beverages) both contributed to the decrease and were partly offset by an increase in spending for motor vehicles and parts (led by new light trucks). Within services, the largest contributors were decreases in spending for food services and accommodations (led by food services) and spending for health care (led by hospitals). These were partly offset by an increase in spending for household utilities (led by electricity). Detailed information on monthly real PCE spending can be found on Table 2.3.6U.

Personal outlays decreased $39.2 billion in December (table 3). Personal saving was $2.38 trillion in December and the personal saving rate—personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income—was 13.7 percent (table 1).

Updates to Personal Income and Outlays

Estimates have been updated for October and November. Revised and previously published changes from the preceding month for current-dollar personal income, and for current-dollar and chained (2012) dollar DPI and PCE, are shown below.