Be the first to comment!Household saving rate up in both the euro area and EU27
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In the second quarter of 2011 compared with the first quarter of 2011, the household saving rate increased while the household investment rate remained almost unchanged in both the euro area (EA17) and the EU27. In the euro area, household disposable income grew by 0.5% in real terms, after an increase of 0.1% in the previous quarter.
Household saving rate increased in both zones
In the second quarter of 2011, the gross saving rate of households was 12.6% in the EU27, compared with 11.9% in the first quarter of 2011. In the euro area, the household saving rate was 13.9% in the second quarter of 2011 compared with 13.6% in the previous quarter.
Household real disposable income up in the euro area
In the euro area, the higher household saving rate was due to real gross disposable income6 increasing more (+0.5%) than real final consumption expenditure (+0.1%). Real income grew due to nominal income increasing at a higher pace (+1.1%) than prices (+0.6%).
The increase in household nominal disposable income (+1.1%) was mainly due to compensation of employees (wages and social contributions) which accounted for +0.6 percentage points (pp). Net property income, gross operating surplus / mixed income (of self-entrepreneurs) and taxes each contributed +0.2 pp.
Household investment rate remained at low levels in both zones
In the EU27, the gross investment rate of households7 was unchanged at 8.1% in the second quarter of 2011. In the euro area, the household investment rate was 8.7% in the second quarter of 2011, compared with 8.8% in the previous quarter.
In the euro area, the slight decrease in the household investment rate was due to investment (gross fixed capital formation, mostly in dwellings) remaining static (+0.0%) while disposable income grew (+1.1%).
These data come from a detailed set of seasonally adjusted quarterly European sector accounts released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, and the European Central Bank (ECB).
