Personal income increased $79.9 billion, or 0.7 percent, and disposable personal income (DPI) increased $65.5 billion, or 0.7 percent, in March, according to a report released April 30 by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $24.4 billion, or 0.3 percent. In February, personal income increased $74.9 billion, or 0.7 percent, DPI increased $62.3 billion, or 0.6 percent, and PCE increased $69.2 billion, or 0.7 percent based on revised estimates.
Wages and salaries
Private wage and salary disbursements increased $38.3 billion in March, compared with an increase of $25.3 billion in February and an increase of $66.3 billion in January. The January change in private wages and salaries reflected an adjustment of $50.0 billion (at an annual rate) for unusually large bonus payments and the exercise of stock options, based on data from state governments and from other sources. These types of irregular payments are not accounted for in the primary monthly source data for wages and salaries. (The March and February changes to private wages and salaries were not affected because the $50 billion adjustment was made to each month of the first quarter.)
Goods-producing industries' payrolls increased $11.5 billion in March, compared with an increase of $1.5 billion in February; manufacturing payrolls increased $5.7 billion, compared with an increase of $1.4 billion. Services-producing industries' payrolls increased $26.8 billion, compared with an increase of $23.7 billion Government wage and salary disbursements increased $3.2 billion, compared with an increase of $4.4 billion.
Other personal income
Supplements to wages and salaries increased $5.2 billion in March, compared with an increase of $4.4 billion in February.
Proprietors' income increased $2.5 billion in March, compared with an increase of $11.2 billion in February. Farm proprietors' income increased $3.4 billion, the same increase as in February. Non-farm proprietors' income decreased $0.9 billion in March, in contrast to an increase of $7.8 billion in February.
Rental income of persons increased $2.2 billion in March, compared with an increase of $1.5 billion in February. Personal income receipts on assets (personal interest income plus personal dividend income) increased $19.8 billion, compared with an increase of $18.9 billion. Personal current transfer receipts increased $14.4 billion in March, compared with an increase of $13.7 billion in February.
Contributions for government social insurance – a subtraction in calculating personal income – increased $5.7 billion in March, compared with an increase of $4.4 billion in February.
Personal current taxes and disposable personal income
Personal current taxes increased $14.4 billion in March, compared with an increase of $12.5 billion in February. Disposable personal income (DPI) – personal income less personal current taxes – increased $65.5 billion, or 0.7 percent, in March, compared with an increase of $62.3 billion, or 0.6 percent, in February.
Personal outlays and personal saving
Personal outlays – PCE, personal interest payments and personal current transfer payments – increased $25.9 billion in March, compared with an increase of $70.9 billion in February. PCE increased $24.4 billion, compared with an increase of $69.2 billion.
Personal saving – DPI less personal outlays – was a negative $79.3 billion in March, compared with a negative $118.8 billion in February. Personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income was a negative 0.8 percent in March, compared with a negative 1.2 percent in February.
Negative personal saving reflects personal outlays that exceed disposable personal income. Saving from current income may be near zero or negative when outlays are financed by borrowing (including borrowing financed through credit cards or home equity loans), by selling investments or other assets, or by using savings from previous periods.
Real DPI and real PCE
Real DPI – DPI adjusted to remove price changes – increased 0.2 percent in March, the same increase as in February.
Real PCE – PCE adjusted to remove price changes – decreased 0.2 percent in March, in contrast to an increase of 0.3 percent in February. Purchases of durable goods increased 0.1 percent, in contrast to a decrease of 0.4 percent. Purchases of non-durable goods decreased 0.1 percent, compared with a decrease of less than 0.1 percent. Purchases of services decreased 0.3 percent, in contrast to an increase of 0.6 percent.
The price index for PCE increased 0.4 percent in March, the same increase as in February. Prices, excluding food and energy, increased less than 0.1 percent, compared with an increase of 0.3 percent.