Personal income increased $26.1 billion, or 0.1 percent at a monthly rate, while consumer spending increased $155.4 billion, or 1.0 percent, in June. Compensation increased in June while pandemic related assistance programs declined. In addition to presenting estimates for June 2021, these highlights provide comparisons to February 2020, the last month before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. For more information, see Federal Recovery Programs and BEA Statistics.
Personal income for June 2021
The increase in personal income in June primarily reflected an increase in compensation of employees, led by private wages and salaries, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Employment Statistics. Government social benefits decreased, primarily reflecting a decrease in "other" social benefits as economic impact payments declined. Unemployment insurance also decreased, led by decreases in payments from the Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program. Additional information on factors affecting monthly personal income can be found on Effects of Selected Federal Pandemic Response Programs on Personal Income.
Consumer spending for June 2021
Current-dollar consumer spending increased in June, reflecting increases in goods and services.
- Within goods, the increase was widespread in nondurable goods, including “other” nondurable goods (led by pharmaceutical products), based on data from IMS Health. Gasoline and other energy goods also increased based on data from the Energy Information Administration.
- Within services, the increase primarily reflected an increase in food services and accommodations (led by food services), based on data from the Census Bureau Monthly Retail Trade Survey.
Consumer prices for June 2021
The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index for June increased 4.0 percent from one year ago, reflecting increases in both goods and services. Energy prices increased 24.2 percent while food prices increased 0.9 percent. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index for June increased 3.5 percent from one year ago.
Compared to May 2021, the PCE price index increased 0.5 percent, reflecting increases in both goods and services. Energy prices increased 1.5 percent while food prices increased 0.8 percent. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index increased 0.4 percent from May 2021 to June 2021.
Personal income changes since February 2020
Over the past 16 months, changes in personal income primarily reflected changes in government social benefits, stemming from the enactment and expiration of legislative acts and related programs.
Consumer spending comparisons to February 2020
A comparison of the June 2021 current-dollar levels of consumer spending with the February 2020 pre-pandemic levels shows that spending for both goods and services increased. Spending for goods in June 2021 was 21 percent above the February 2020 level. Categories with notable increases included motor vehicles and parts, recreational goods and vehicles (led by information processing equipment), and furnishings and durable household equipment.
Spending for services in June 2021 exceeded the pre-pandemic level for the first time and was 0.5 percent above the February 2020 level. Categories with notable decreases included recreation and transportation services.
Since the onset of the pandemic, BEA has used traditional data sources along with alternative data sources, particularly payment card transactions, to estimate changes in the monthly pattern of consumer spending. Additional information is available at COVID-19 and Recovery: Estimates from Payment Card Transactions.
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