US Personal Income Rose 0.2% in September as Consumer Spending Climbed 0.5%, BEA Reports Saving Rate at 3.8%
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the Department of Commerce reported on October 29 in Washington that U.S. personal income increased $54.5 billion (0.2 percent at a monthly rate) in September 2026, while personal consumption expenditures (PCE) rose $113.1 billion (0.5 percent) and the personal saving rate was 3.8 percent.
Disposable personal income (DPI) — personal income less personal current taxes — increased $52.7 billion (0.2 percent). Personal outlays, the sum of PCE, personal interest payments, and personal current transfer payments, increased $113.0 billion. Personal saving was $911.1 billion, and the saving rate, personal saving as a percentage of DPI, was 3.8 percent.
The September increase in current-dollar personal income primarily reflected increases in compensation and in government social benefits. Within compensation, the increase was led by private wages and salaries, based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Current Employment Statistics. The increase in government social benefits was led by Medicare, based on data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Budget of the U.S. Government.
Current-dollar PCE rose $113.1 billion in September, reflecting increases of $35.1 billion in spending on goods and $78.1 billion in spending on services. Real PCE increased $2.6 billion (less than 0.1 percent), while real DPI decreased 0.3 percent after no change in August.
On prices, the PCE price index increased 0.5 percent from the preceding month and, excluding food and energy, 0.3 percent. From the same month a year ago, the PCE price index increased 3.6 percent and the core index 3.1 percent. In August, current-dollar personal income and DPI had each risen 0.3 percent, current-dollar PCE 0.9 percent, and the PCE price index 0.3 percent.
BEA said estimates for July and August were updated to reflect revised employment data, with the revision to personal interest income led by monetary interest. The next release, Personal Income and Outlays for October 2026, is scheduled for November 25 at 8:30 a.m. EST.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国经济分析局（BEA）2026年9月个人收入与支出官方图表，显示可支配个人收入、个人支出与储蓄率走势。来源：美国商务部经济分析局 BEA 官方发布（美国政府公共领域） / Chart: BEA official chart for Personal Income and Outlays, September 2026. Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce (public domain).
