Personal Income and Outlays, October 2021

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 $93.4 billion (0.5 percent) in October according to estimates released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (tables 3 and 5). Disposable personal income (DPI) increased $63.0 billion (0.3 percent) and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $214.3 billion (1.3 percent).

Real DPI decreased 0.3 percent in October and Real PCE increased 0.7 percent; goods increased 1.0 percent and services increased 0.5 percent (tables 5 and 7). The PCE price index increased 0.6 percent. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index increased 0.4 percent (table 9).

The increase in personal income in October primarily reflected increases in compensation of employees and personal income receipts on assets that were partly offset by a decrease in government social benefits (table 3). Within compensation, the increase primarily reflected an increase in private wages and salaries. Within personal income receipts on assets, both dividend income and interest income increased. Within government social benefits, unemployment insurance decreased, reflecting decreases in payments from three pandemic-related unemployment programs: Pandemic Unemployment Compensation Payments, Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (table 3).

The $214.3 billion increase in current-dollar PCE in October reflected an increase of $123.8 billion in spending for goods and an increase of $90.5 billion in spending for services (table 3). Within goods, increases were widespread, led by motor vehicles and parts. Within services, increases were also widespread, led by “other” services (mainly international travel). Detailed information on monthly PCE spending can be found on Table 2.3.5U.

Personal outlays increased $216.8 billion in October (table 3). Personal saving was $1.32 trillion in October and the personal saving rate—personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income—was 7.3 percent (table 1).

The PCE price index for October increased 5.0 percent from one year ago, reflecting increases in both goods and services (table 11). Energy prices increased 30.2 percent while food prices increased 4.8 percent. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index for October increased 4.1 percent from one year ago.

Updates to Personal Income and Outlays

Estimates have been updated for April through September. For April through June, estimates for compensation, personal taxes, and contributions for government social insurance reflect the incorporation of updated second-quarter wage and salary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program. 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 provided below for August and September.